The U.S. State Department has expressed its intent to actively cooperate with South Korea's President-elect Yoon Suk Yeol to deal with the threat of nuclear weapons and ballistic missiles posed by North Korea.
 
Department spokesperson Ned Price made the statement on Thursday during a press briefing in Washington after congratulating Yoon on winning the presidency.

Price said that the U.S.-South Korea alliance is the linchpin of peace, security and progress in the Indo-Pacific region. 

The spokesperson said the U.S. looks forward to working with Yoon to deepen cooperation on key global challenges that include climate change, COVID-19 recovery efforts, establishing supply chains networks, as well as common security challenges. 

He added that threats posed by North Korea's nuclear weapons and ballistic missile programs tops the list of  common security issues in the Indo-Pacific.