SEOUL-- President Yoon Suk Yeol met with U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin on Tuesday in Seoul and discussed ways to beef up security ties and extended deterrence against North Korea, the presidential office said.
Austin arrived in Seoul the previous day on a regional swing that will also take him to the Philippines. Earlier Tuesday, he held talks with Defense Minister Lee Jong-sup.
During the meeting at the presidential office, Yoon called for U.S. commitment of an "effective and strong" extended deterrence to cope with North Korea's growing nuclear threats.
"We ask for consultations between South Korea and the United States to come up with an effective and strong extended deterrence system that can dispel South Korean people's concern about North Korea's evolving nuclear threats," Yoon was quoted as saying by presidential spokeswoman Kim Eun-hye.
Yoon also emphasized the need for effective Seoul-Washington joint drills, in light of the changing environment, for defense of the peninsula.
Austin said the South Korea-U.S. alliance is an axis of Northeast Asian security and is stronger now than ever.
Yoon and Austin agreed that Seoul-Washington-Tokyo defense ties must be stronger in order to deter North Korea's nuclear and missile threats.
Following the meeting, Austin left for the Philippines.
Earlier in the day, the defense chiefs of the two countries agreed to expand the scale and intensity of the allies' combined military drills.
During a news conference with his counterpart Lee, Austin highlighted the U.S. "ironclad" and "unwavering" security commitment to South Korea, saying there will be more frequent deployments of high-profile U.S. strategic assets such as advanced stealth jets and aircraft carriers.
South Korea and the United States are set to stage a combined military exercise in February, under the scenario of use of a nuclear weapon by North Korea.
The two countries will also hold a 11-day springtime South Korea-U.S. exercise without a break, demonstrating a final test of a homegrown solid-propellant space rocket and launching the country's first military surveillance satellite.
Source: Yonhap News Agency