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South Korean Defense Minister shakes hands with US Defense Secretary James Mattis during their summit at the US Pacific Command in Honolulu

The South Korean Defense Minister and the US Secretary of Defense welcomed the resumption of inter-Korean dialogue and North Korea’s participation in the Pyeongchang Olympics, while agreeing to closely cooperate to ensure peace and security during the Games.

Song Young-moo and James Mattis also agreed to beef up a strong, effective, and reliable response posture to provide military support for diplomatic efforts toward denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula.

“Minister of National Defense Song Young-moo and US Secretary of Defense James Mattis held defense minister talks on Jan. 26 at the US Pacific Command in Honolulu, Hawaii, and reaffirmed the solidity of the South Korea-US alliance and its mission of defending the Republic of Korea and maintaining peace and stability on the Korean Peninsula,” the South Korean Ministry of National Defense said on Jan. 27.

The talks are drawing particular intention for including discussions on the future situation after the Pyeongchang Olympics, which have ushered in inter-Korean dialogue and reduced tensions in the new year. The Pentagon released a record of the two ministers’ conversation ahead of the talks, in which Mattis was quoted as saying the Kim Jong-un regime in North Korea was a “threat to the entire world.”

“It’s an international problem that requires an international solution,” he added.

“Our response to this threat remains diplomacy led, backed up with military options available to ensure that our diplomats are understood to be speaking from a position of strength,” Mattis continued, reiterating Washington’s position that the military option remains in place at the present stage as a means of backing up a diplomatic solution.

In its own press release after the meeting, the South Korean Ministry of National Defense said the two ministers had “shared the opinion that we must continue to strengthen combined South Korea and US capabilities to deter and defend against North Korea’s threats.”

“We agreed to continue beefing up a strong, effective, and reliable military response posture to provide military support for the current diplomatic efforts toward denuclearization of the peninsula,” it said.

Mattis also said, “As two peace-loving nations, the Republic of Korea and America welcome the Olympic Games talks between the ROK and DPRK. And at the same time, [they remain] steadfast that the international economic pressure campaign can denuclearize the Korean Peninsula.”

“Diplomacy should repose reason on Kim's reckless rhetoric and dangerous provocations,” he added.

“So we do not lose sight of the fact that the Olympics talks alone do not address overarching problems,” he stressed.

Mattis also made reference to the South Korean government’s impounding in late 2017 and early 2018 of two vessels suspected of involvement in ship-to-ship transfer of cargo with North Korea.

“I want to praise your nation's steadfast action, upholding the United Nations sanctions at sea,” he told Song.

“The international pressure campaign [against North Korea] must continue,” Mattis declared, adding that “our aim remains a complete and verifiable and irreversible de-nuclearization (CVID) of the Korean Peninsula.”

The South Korean Ministry of National Defense said the two ministers “stressed that any effort to drive a wedge in the South Korea-US alliance would not succeed, and agreed to continue cooperative closely so that North Korea changes its attitude and comes to the negotiating table to discuss denuclearization.”

During the meeting, Song also shared information on preparations for the handover of wartime operational control of the South Korean military and progress in national defense reforms, the ministry said.

By Kim Ji-eun, staff reporter

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