Anchor: U.S. Defense Secretary Mark Esper said that "rogue states" such as Iran and North Korea call for constant vigilance. Esper delivered a key note speech at a university event in Washington, where South Korean officials are working to revive the dialogue momentum between Washington and Pyongyang via reviving inter-Korean projects. 
Kim Bum-soo has more.  

Report: U.S. Defense Secretary Mark Esper has labeled North Korea a rogue state.

[Sound bite: US Secretary of Defense Mark Esper]
“We also face continued threats from rogue states like Iran and North Korea that require our constant, constant vigilance.” 

Esper was speaking at an event hosted by the Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies in Washington on Thursday.

[Sound bite: US Secretary of Defense Mark Esper]
"Our recent actions against the Iranian regime, for example, restore deterrence in the region and sent the message that the United States will not stand idly by when its troops and interests are threatened." 

Weeks after threatening to deliver a “Christmas gift,’’ North Korean leader Kim Jong-un warned that he’s ready to unveil a new strategic weapon and take “shocking actual action.’’ 

As the Pentagon chief is making sure that the U.S. stands ready militarily, Seoul is seeking to persuade the U.S. that rekindling inter-Korean economic projects could provide a breakthrough in reviving the dialogue track. 

Sources in the ruling camp confirmed that South Korean presidential secretary for peace planning Choi Jong-kun met with his counterparts in the U.S. last weekend. Seoul also sent Kim Hyun-chong, the deputy chief of presidential national security office, to Washington this week to discuss pending issues. 

President Moon Jae-in said in his New Year's press conference that Seoul will not sit idle and wait for the U.S.-North Korea dialogue to bear fruit, vowing to restart inter-Korean cooperation as a starting point to facilitate the nuclear talks. 
Kim Bum-soo, KBS World Radio News.

[Photo : KBS]