US defence secretary arrives in S Korea for security consultations

Seoul — US Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin has arrived in South Korea for annual bilateral security consultations."It is critical to maintain a #FreeandOpenIndoPacific region, and a major way we achieve that is by working in lockstep with allies and partners like the Republic of Korea," Austin tweeted on Wednesday after landing at the US Osan Air Base south of Seoul.His meeting with his counterpart Suh Wook, scheduled for Thursday in Seoul, is expected to focus on coordinating the countries' North Korea policy and the alliance between the two countries. According to the Pentagon, it is the 53rd meeting of regular security consultations between the two countries.During a visit to South Korea in March, Austin and US Secretary of State Antony Blinken had affirmed that they would continue to pursue the goal of "complete denuclearization of the Korean peninsula." By denuclearization, both countries mean the complete disarmament of North Korea's nuclear arsenal. Washington's negotiations with the largely isolated government of North Korea have been making no progress for more than two and a half years.Another issue will be the planned but repeatedly postponed transfer of command of joint forces from US forces to South Korea in the event of a new war on the Korean peninsula. There are currently 28,500 US troops serving in South Korea. The country had ceded command to the US-led UN forces during the Korean War. Seoul holds the command in peacetime.

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