S. Korea says to maintain close cooperation with U.S. after DPRK's nuke test

South Korea and the United States plan to maintain a close cooperation after the fourth nuclear test by the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK), Seoul's foreign ministry said Wednesday.

South Korean Foreign Minister Yun Byung-se met at the ministry's headquarters in Seoul with U.S. Ambassador to South Korea Mark Lippert and Gen. Curtis Scaparrotti, commander of the United States Forces Korea (USFK).

During the meeting, they discussed how to counter what the DPRK claimed was its first hydrogen bomb test.

Yun said during the meeting that the two allies will maintain a solid, strong joint defense readiness, while closely cooperating between foreign and defense authorities of the two countries.

The foreign minister also noted that Seoul and Washington will closely cooperate to take bilateral and multilateral measures, including those from the UN Security Council, necessary for responding to the DPRK's nuclear test.

South Korean President Park Geun-hye vowed to make the DPRK pay a corresponding price over the nuclear test, which Seoul and the international society had repeatedly warned against.

Defense Ministry spokesman Kim Min-seok told a press briefing that the South Korean military was elevating its surveillance of DPRK forces' moves with increased operations of U.S.-South Korea surveillance assets.

Kim said that South Korean Defense Minister Han Min-Koo plans to make a phone call with his U.S. counterpart Ashton Carter to discuss close military cooperation.

South Korea's Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Lee Sun-jin discussed military cooperation measures with Scaparrotti earlier in the day. Enditem