U.S. Defense Secretary Mark Esper has underlined that the South Korea-U.S. alliance is “the linchpin of peace and security” on the Korean Peninsula and Northeast Asia. 

Esper made the remarks on Friday ahead of his meeting with South Korean Defense Minister Jeong Kyeong-doo in Seoul, reaffirming that the alliance is “ironclad.”

He noted that South Korea and the U.S. have a bond that was formed during the war and share a vision of a peaceful Korean Peninsula and a free and open Indo-Pacific region.

On North Korea, the Esper said the U.S. "will remain resolute in the enforcement of the UN Security Council resolutions until the North engages in the complete, verifiable, irreversible denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula.”

The Pentagon chief also emphasized the need to seek a diplomatic solution to the North’s nuclear issue.

In his introductory remarks, Defense Minister Chung said Japan’s latest trade restrictions are dealing a blow to Seoul-Tokyo relations and trilateral security cooperation between Seoul, Washington and Tokyo.