By Cheryl Pellerin
American Forces Press Service
SEOUL, South Korea, March 18, 2013 – During a series of
high-level meetings here, Deputy Defense Secretary Ash Carter met with
members of South Korean President Park Geun-hye’s new administration,
and with U.S. military and diplomatic officials.
Deputy
Defense Secretary Ash Carter addresses U.S. and South Korean forces
assigned to the joint operations center of Command Post TANGO near
Seoul, South Korea, March 18, 2013. Carter thanked the troops for their
service and reminded them to thank their family members for the
sacrifices they make in serving their countries. DOD photo by Glenn
Fawcett
(Click photo for screen-resolution image);high-resolution image available. |
|
Carter had an excellent round of consultations with senior members
of Park’s new team, he told reporters during a briefing this afternoon,
and in each meeting reconfirmed a steadfast commitment to the nearly
60-year-old alliance between the United States and South Korea.
“It’s safe to report that the relationship between the Park and Obama
administrations is off to a very productive start,” he said. “My visit
reflects the importance [Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel] and I attach to
this alliance.”
Park, South Korea’s first woman president, was
sworn in Feb. 25, less than two weeks after North Korean state media
announced that the nation had conducted its third underground nuclear
test since 2006. This and other provocations that are part of a
continuing North Korean pattern were key topics in discussions today,
Carter said, adding that such actions pose a serious threat to the
United States, to South Korea and to regional stability.
“If the
North Koreans think this kind of thing is going to get them anywhere,
they're mistaken,” the deputy secretary said. “The only effect it's
having is to bring down upon North Korea the opprobrium of the entire
world.”
The United States is working with friends and allies
around the world to employ an integrated response to these unacceptable
provocations, Carter added.
The response includes United Nations
Security Council resolutions with unprecedentedly strong sanctions
against North Korea, and more unilateral sanctions of great effect, and
the nation’s resulting progressive isolation, he said.
“In the
military sphere, the United States remains steadfast in its defense
commitments to the Republic of Korea,” the deputy defense secretary
observed. “Together, we are taking important steps to advance the
alliance military capabilities.”
In particular, the United States
remains committed to extended deterrence offered by the U.S. nuclear
umbrella, and to ensuring that all capabilities remain available to the
alliance, he added.
For example, Carter noted the routine
presence of strategic bombers taking part in flight training on the
Korean Peninsula, adding that a B-52 flight will take place tomorrow.
B-52s are long-range, strategic heavy bombers that can drop or launch
the widest array of weapons in the U.S. inventory.
As Hagel
announced March 15, the United States will strengthen its missile
defenses and is determined to keep ahead of the progress of North Korean
intercontinental ballistic missile development, the deputy defense
secretary said.
The annual U.S.-South Korean military exercises
Key Resolve, ongoing until March 21, and Foal Eagle, a combined and
joint field training exercise that runs across the Korean Peninsula from
March 1 to April 30, “demonstrate the U.S. commitment to the alliance,”
Carter said, “and ensure the readiness of both of our forces to defend
the Republic of Korea and deepen interoperability with U.S. and South
Korean forces.”
On this cool, hazy Monday morning in Seoul,
Carter started his day with a visit to Army Gen. James D. Thurman,
commander of U.S. Forces Korea. Afterward, he met with U.S. Ambassador
to South Korea Sung Kim.
Carter then visited the South Korean Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade to meet with Minister Yun Byung-se.
The U.S. commitment to South Korea is very strong, Carter told Yun in remarks before the meeting.
“Our capabilities are very formidable -- yours, ours and ours
combined,” Carter said, clasping his hands together in illustration.
“And as you know,” he added, “we have the full range of capabilities for
both countries committed to the defense of South Korea. That has been
true for decades, and it has not changed.”
Later, Carter traveled
to the Blue House and met with Kim Jang-Soo at the National Security
Office. The Blue House comprises the executive offices and official
residence of the president. It translates to "pavilion of blue tiles"
and is built in the Korean architectural tradition with modern elements.
Carter’s final meeting today was with Minister of National Defense Kim Kwan-jin.
In addition to the threat posed by North Korea’s nuclear and ballistic
missile programs, Carter and the South Korean officials discussed adding
military capabilities to the alliance, continuing extended nuclear
deterrence, and continuing the U.S. commitment to resource the
Asia-Pacific rebalance, including the U.S. presence on the Korean
Peninsula.
During the afternoon news conference, Carter answered a
question about potential effects of extreme Defense Department budget
cuts -- a process known as sequestration -- on the U.S. commitment to
South Korea. Specifically, he was asked whether the United States would
ask South Korea for a larger contribution to U.S. efforts on the
peninsula.
“The United States has not asked the Republic of Korea
for funds associated with sequester,” the deputy defense secretary
said, describing the process as a temporary budget turbulence imposed by
the U.S. Congress that will last until Oct. 1.
“We will deal
with that turmoil in a way that does not affect the Korean Peninsula.
That's the direction I've given,” he added, “and so operations and
actions on the Korean Peninsula aren't affected.”
Carter and his
South Korean counterparts pledged close and continuing cooperation on
these issues at senior levels of government.
After the news
conference, Carter and Thurman toured Command Post TANGO -- for theater
air naval ground operations -- a high-tech bunker 11 miles south of
Seoul that serves as the Korean theater’s main warfighting headquarters.
There, Carter observed elements of the Key Resolve and Foal Eagle
exercises, and thanked U.S and South Korean troops for their service and
for keeping the world safe from harm.
Carter’s Asian visit will
end tomorrow night after a stop in Jakarta, Indonesia, where he will
hold bilateral meetings, attend a dinner with members of the Association
of Southeast Asian Nations’ Council of Permanent Representatives, and
attend for the first time as deputy defense secretary the Jakarta
International Defense Dialogue.
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