Defense chiefs and representatives from South Korea and 17 United Nations Command(UNC) member states held an inaugural meeting in Seoul on Tuesday.

In a congratulatory message, President Yoon Suk Yeol said the UNC is a source of strength that defends the country, adding that it not only maintains the Korean War Armistice Agreement, but offers the combined military power of friendly nations in an emergency without a UN Security Council resolution(UNSC).

Defense minister Shin Won-sik said Tuesday's meeting has been organized as an opportunity for the participants to display the international community's united force against North Korea's security threats and to further strengthen their solidarity.

In a warning to the North, the minister said that another illegal invasion of the South by the North would be met with strong retribution with the UNC at the forefront.

U.S. Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin strongly denounced China and Russia for assisting in the regime's missile development through the evasion of UNSC resolutions and sanctions, while expressing grave concerns over expanded military cooperation between Pyongyang and Moscow.

The attending states are expected to issue a joint statement in which the UNC will pledge to collectively respond to any resumption of hostilities or armed attacks on the Korean Peninsula that threaten South Korea's security.