Roundup: Pentagon chief appeases S. Korea with reassurance of defense commitment

Visiting U.S. Defense Secretary James Mattis reaffirmed U.S. commitment to the defense of South Korea here on Thursday, including its extended deterrence.

The Pentagon chief said the Trump administration will deal with the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK)'s nuclear threats as top priority among security issues.

Mattis, who arrived here earlier in the day, met with Kim Kwan-jin, senior security advisor to impeached President Park Geun-hye, in the presidential office Cheong Wa Dae.

During the talks, Kim said it was very timely for Mattis to pick South Korea as his first overseas trip destination given the stern security situations, caused by the DPRK's nuclear and missile threats.

Concerns were deepened recently about the DPRK's test-launch of a long-range ballistic rocket as top DPRK leader Kim Jong Un said in his New Year's Day address that his country had entered a final stage to prepare for such launch.

Mattis and Kim agreed to push for the Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) deployment in South Korea.

Seoul and Washington abruptly announced the agreement in July last year to install one THAAD battery in South Korean soil by the end of this year. Local media speculated the installation could be completed between May and July.

It sparked strong objections from China and Russia as its X-band radar can peer into territories of the two nations, destabilizing security balance and boosting arms race in the region.

Major presidential contenders in the South Korean opposition bloc have demanded the cancellation or the delay of the decision to the next government, which is forecast to be launched as early as April.

President Park was impeached in December over a corruption scandal, and the constitutional court is expected to permanently remove Park from office before the middle of March. A presidential election must be held in 60 days after the court's final ruling.

The Pentagon chief and the senior South Korean security official shared views on the need to strengthen the U.S.-South Korea alliance, promising to closely communicate with each other to respond to the DPRK's rising threats.

Meanwhile, Mattis paid a courtesy call to Prime Minister Hwang Kyo-ahn, who is serving as acting South Korean president, according to local media reports.

During the meeting, the U.S. defense minister said the two allies should go shoulder-to-shoulder in tackling the DPRK threats, promising to further strengthen their bilateral relations under situations that South Korea is facing the DPRK provocations.

U.S. President Donald Trump, Mattis said, made it clear for him to place a priority on the U.S.-South Korea alliance.

Hwang told Mattis that it was meaningful for Mattis to select South Korea as his first foreign trip destination, given the importance of the South Korea-U.S. alliance and its future development.

The prime minister recently emerged as one of powerful presidential hopefuls in the conservative bloc as former UN chief Ban Ki-moon abruptly pulled out of the presidential race on Wednesday.

The meeting was attended by senior presidential secretary for security and foreign affairs, defense minister and the chairman of Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) on the South Korean side as well as the USFK commander and the acting U.S. ambassador to South Korea.

Mattis will hold talks with his South Korean counterpart Han Min-koo on Friday morning in the South Korean defense ministry's headquarters in Seoul, before traveling to Japan for another two-day trip. Endit