Today, Secretary of Defense Ash Carter met with the Republic of Korea's President Park Geun-hye and Minister of National Defense Han Min-koo in Washington, D.C. The Secretary greeted President Park with a full military honors parade, the first of the Secretary's tenure.
In his meetings with President Park and Minister Han, Secretary Carter reaffirmed the strength of the U.S.-ROK alliance as the linchpin of peace and security on the Korean Peninsula and across the Asia-Pacific and strongly reassured both leaders of the United States' ironclad commitment to the defense of the ROK.
The leaders discussed areas of mutual concern in the Asia-Pacific, including the challenges posed by North Korea, and the importance of continued alliance cooperation and coordination to deter and, if necessary, defend against and defeat North Korean threats. Secretary Carter and Minister Han agreed to establish an interagency working group to enhance cooperation on defense technology issues and discussed opportunities to increase alliance cooperation on space and cyberspace.