U.S. Forces Korea Commander General Walter Sharp says that military leaders of South Korea and the United States have created broad new countermeasures to respond to North Korea’s provocations.

Ahead of his retirement next week, the USFK chief on Thursday said in an interview with the Wall Street Journal that the new plans were produced in high-level talks between the two nations. He said the development of the countermeasures picked up pace and intensified after the North's sinking of the Cheonan naval vessel and shelling of Yeongpyeong Island near the maritime border.

Sharp said that the new plans cover deterrence, ways to respond immediately to the North’s attacks and other volatile situations, and how to shape a long-term response.