US to continue deploying weapons in South Korea
South Korean Defense Minister Lee Jong-sup and his American counterpart Lloyd Austin issued a joint statement on Tuesday, condemning North Korea's missile launches and recent drone incursions.
"The two leaders additionally pledged to closely cooperate in order to continue to deploy US strategic assets in a timely and coordinated manner in the future," the statement noted, addressing the nuclear threat from Pyongyang. Austin arrived in the South Korean capital yesterday for a meeting with Lee Jong-sup, two months after their annual security talks in Washington.
NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg also made a visit to Seoul yesterday, after which North Korean media warned of a "prelude to confrontation and war as it [the visit] brings the dark clouds of a new Cold War" to the region.