Washington, Seoul Agree to Strenghten Defence Against Pyongyang 'Threat'

US Defense Secretary Ashton Carter and his South Korean counterpart Han Min-koo agreed to enhance defense capacity amid what they deemed North Korea's "continuing threat," the joint statement read on Monday.

TOKYO (Sputnik) — Earlier in the day, Carter and Han had a bilateral closed-door meeting, which was followed by the statement.

"The [South Korean] minister and the [US Defense] secretary reaffirmed that any North Korean aggression or military provocation is not to be tolerated," the joint statement read.

The ministers expressed concern over the Pyongyang's intent to conduct a long-range missile launch and a nuclear test, and condemned the initiative.

Carter also pledged to maintain the current level of the US military presence in South Korea and strengthen the US servicemen combat readiness, according to the statement.

Currently, there are 28,500 US servicemen deployed in South Korea.

"….our alliance with South Korea is ironclad and strong…. You see that by the strength of our soldiers here and their South Korean counterparts," Carter said in a joint news conference with his South Korean counterpart.

Carter's visit to South Korea is part of an eight-day Pacific tour. The meeting with Han comes just two months after Seoul and Pyongyang managed to reach an agreement to defuse tensions which escalated rapidly and threatened to culminate in a live armed conflict.

In 2005, North Korea unilaterally declared itself a nuclear power. Since then, it has conducted several underground nuclear weapon tests, which was condemned by Seoul and its close ally, Washington.

The following year, the United States and the United Nations started imposing sanctions on Pyongyang in response to its tests of nuclear weapons and ballistic missiles.