The top defense officials of South Korea and the U.S. have agreed to boost their countries’ joint military exercises and regular deployment of U.S. strategic weapons on the Korean Peninsula in response to North Korea’s sixth nuclear test.
 
South Korean Defense Minister Song Young-moo and U.S. Secretary of Defense James Mattis reached the agreement during a phone conversation late Tuesday.
 
The South Korean Defense Ministry said the two officials assessed the South Korea-U.S. alliance and exchanged views on ways to jointly respond to the North’s sixth nuclear test. They also discussed ways to boost bilateral cooperation and trilateral cooperation with Japan to be prepared for North Korean threats and to ensure peace and stability in Northeast Asia and the Asia-Pacific region.

In Washington, Pentagon chief spokeswoman Dana White said Mattis assured Song that the U.S. “remains ironclad in its commitment to the defense” of South Korea. Mattis was also quoted as saying “any threat to the United States, its territories, or its allies will be met with a massive, effective and overwhelming military response."
 

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