South Korean leader Yoon Suk Yeol has called for enhanced joint defense training with the United States in light of North Korea's recent weapons advancements.
"North Korea's evolving nuclear and missile capabilities and continued provocations are threatening security on the Korean Peninsula and in the region. A firmer combined defense posture is more important than ever," Yoon said on Tuesday in a visit to the U.S. Indo-Pacific Command in Hawaii.
Yoon, a vocal critic of Pyongyang, was the first South Korean president to visit the U.S. military's largest unified combatant command since 1995, his office said, in line with his strong backing of the Mutual Defense Treaty between Seoul and Washington.
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has doubled down on ballistic weapons tests prohibited by multiple U.N. Security Council resolutions, and his recent closeness with Russian President Vladimir Putin has increased Western concerns about North Korea's effect on security in Europe.
North Korea's "illicit arms deals with Russia" and Kim's signing of a mutual defense pledge with Putin have deepened international concerns, Yoon said, according to a news release prepared by his spokesperson.
"Strong force and solidarity among countries that share our values are essential to defend our freedom, democracy and economic prosperity from these reckless forces," South Korea's president was quoted as saying.
Admiral Sam Paparo, the commander of the U.S. Indo-Pacific Command, said Yoon had demonstrated "clear insight that Ukraine's security and the Indo-Pacific's security are interconnected," Yoon's office said.
Paparo also praised Yoon for advancing bilateral ties with Japan, another U.S. ally, at the expense of political capital at home, the statement added.
South Korea hosts 28,500 American troops as part of U.S. Forces Korea, while U.S. Forces Japan is 54,000 strong—the largest number of forward-deployed U.S. military personnel anywhere in the world outside U.S. territory.
Newsweek contacted the U.S. Department of Defense, North Korean Embassy in Beijing and Russian Foreign Ministry for comment by email.
The U.S. and South Korea have jointly accused Pyongyang of supplying ballistic missiles and millions of rounds of artillery shells to Russia for use in its invasion of Ukraine.
"I think we have made quite clear our great concern about increased collaboration between the DPRK and Russia," U.S. State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller said at a news briefing on Monday, referring to the Democratic People's Republic of Korea, the North's official name.
"We've seen … the DPRK supporting Russia's war machine that is targeting and killing innocent civilians in Ukraine and violating the territorial integrity and sovereignty of another United Nations member in violation of multiple United Nations Security Council resolutions, and we will continue to work with our allies and partners to counter that relationship," Miller said.
While Kim consolidates power among loyal party members at home, his neighbors believe he can have a destabilizing effect in Europe.
That is the message South Korea's Yoon and Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida plan to carry to Washington, D.C., on Wednesday when they attend NATO's annual summit as representatives from the Indo-Pacific.
Separately this week, Pyongyang criticized the recently concluded Freedom Edge military exercise between the U.S., South Korea and Japan, and other U.S.-led drills, as "an inexcusable and explicit provocation."
Kim Yo Jong, Kim Jong Un's sister, said any act adjudged to have violated North Korea's sovereignty would be "tantamount to a declaration of war," according to a statement carried on Monday by the Korean Central News Agency.
About the writer
John Feng is Newsweek's contributing editor for Asia based in Taichung, Taiwan. His focus is on East Asian politics. He ... Read more
