S. Korea, U.S. agree to strengthen cooperation against Pyongyang's nukes

SEOUL, July 16 (Yonhap) -- South Korea and the United States have agreed to cooperate in strengthening their mutual deterrence against North Korea's nuclear ambitions and work together to enforce tough sanctions on the country's provocative behavior, the foreign ministry here said Saturday.

The agreement was reached at a meeting held in Hawaii on Friday (local time) between Kim Hong-kyun, South Korea's special representative for Korean Peninsula peace and security affairs, and Sung Kim, the U.S. special representative for North Korea policy, according to the ministry.

"Both agreed to strengthen their deterrent capacity against the North based on their solid joint defense capability, while maintaining their cooperation in tandem with global coordination in a way that can help enforce stronger sanctions against any additional provocations by the North," the ministry said.

They also reconfirmed that denuclearization of the North is a shared objective not just for the two but also for the international community as a whole.

The ministry added that the two sides shared their opinions on the overall situation on the Korean Peninsula including the North's recent Musudan intermediate missile and submarine-launched ballistic missile tests.

kokobj@yna.co.kr
(END)