South Korea to Promote Bilateral Defense Deals With US Under Trump

South Korea intends to develop cooperation with the new US administration and promote major bilateral agreements in the defense sphere, South Korean Defense Minister Han Min-goo said Thursday.

TOKYO (Sputnik) – The representatives of the South Korean military held earlier in the day an emergency meeting to assess possible influence of the newly elected US president’s policy on the alliance between the United States and South Korea.

"We are planning to set up a task force to help push forward major defense agreements with the U.S. despite the change in the U.S. administration," Han said, as quoted by the Yonhap news agency.

Han stressed that South Korean authorities would attempt to achieve close cooperation with those lawmakers in Trump’s administration who are responsible for introducing changes in US defense policy with regard to South Korea.

Trump won the US presidency in Tuesday’s election, having gained 290 electoral votes. The inauguration will be held on January 20, 2017.