South Korean and U.S. defense chiefs reaffirmed the common goal of the Korean Peninsula's complete denuclearization during their talks on Wednesday, according to the South Korean Defense Ministry.
South Korean Defense Minister Suh Wook talked in Seoul with visiting U.S. Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin, who arrived earlier in the day following his trip to Japan with U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken.
Suh and Austin reaffirmed their common goal of completely denuclearizing the peninsula and finding a permanent peace settlement, the South Korea ministry said.
U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin (L), poses with South Korean Defense Minister Suh Wook (R), during a meeting at the Defense Ministry in Seoul, South Korea, March 17, 2021. /AP
They also reaffirmed the conditions-based transfer of the wartime operational control of South Korean forces from the United States, to which Seoul and Washington agreed in 2006.
South Korea's wartime command was handed over to the U.S. forces after the 1950-53 Korean War broke out. South Korea won back its peacetime operational control in 1994.
Meanwhile, South Korean Foreign Minister Chung Eui-yong held talks with Blinken to discuss issues of mutual concern, such as bilateral relations, peninsula issues, and other regional and global issues, according to the South Korean foreign ministry.
Chung and Blinken had an in-depth discussion on ways to cooperate for substantive progress in the complete denuclearization and the lasting peace settlement on the peninsula.
They agreed to continue consultations to hold a summit between South Korean President Moon Jae-in and U.S. President Joe Biden as early as possible.
The U.S. officials are scheduled to hold a "two plus two" meeting with their South Korean counterparts on Thursday.