Pentagon chief reaffirms US-South Korea alliance from Seoul

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US Defense Secretary James Mattis reaffirmed on Thursday the US’s commitment to the defense of South Korea and said that the Trump administration will deal with nuclear threats from the Democratic People's Republic of Korea's (DPRK) as a top priority among security issues.

The Pentagon chief made the remarks as he started his visit to South Korea, his first overseas trip since taking office about two weeks ago.

He arrived in Seoul on Thursday for a two-day visit.

Mattis met with Kim Kwan-jin, senior security adviser to impeached President Park Geun-hye, in the presidential office Cheong Wa Dae.

James Mattis arrives in Seoul, South Korea on February 2, 2017. /Guancha.cn Photo

Concerns about Pyongyang’s possible launch of a long-range missile have been raised after top DPRK leader Kim Jong Un said in his New Year's Day address that his country had entered the final stage in preparations to test-launch a long-range ballistic rocket.

Mattis and Kim shared views on the need to strengthen the US-South Korea alliance, promising to closely communicate with each other to respond to the DPRK's rising threats.

During the talks, Mattis and Kim agreed to push forward with the deployment of the Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD).

File picture of a Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) interceptor provided by the US Department of Defense, Missile Defense Agency. /CFP Photo

Last July, Seoul and Washington announced their plans to install one THAAD battery on South Korean soil by the end of 2017.

The installation could be completed between May and July, local media have reported.

The news had sparked strong objections from China and Russia.

Beijing has said that the X-band radar of the military equipment can scan deep into the Chinese territories, and repeated that the move will undermine regional strategic balance and the strategic security interests of countries in the region, and spur an arms race.

James Mattis testifies before the Senate Armed Services Committee on his nomination to be the next secretary of defense in the Dirksen Senate Office Building on Capitol Hill in Washington, DC on January 12, 2017. /CFP Photo

Major presidential contenders in the South Korean opposition bloc have also demanded the cancellation, or the delay of the deployment to let the country’s next administration reconsider it.

During the visit, the US defense chief will also hold talks with his South Korean counterpart Han Min-koo on Friday morning in the South Korean defense ministry's headquarters in Seoul, before traveling to Japan for another two-day trip.

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