US, South Korea to expand bilateral cooperation in retaliation to Pyongyang's missile test

A day after North Korea fired a short-range missile into the sea, the defence chiefs of the United States and South Korea met in Seoul on Tuesday and decided to expand bilateral cooperation in order to retaliate against North Korea. 

"The leaders (of South Korea and the US) discussed DPRK's (North Korea's) recent missiles launches and agreed to explore enhancements to the Alliance's defence posture to account for Omni-directional threats," the US Defense Department and South Korea's Ministry of National Defense said in a joint statement after their 20th Integrated Defense Dialogue.

Apart from the meeting of the defence chiefs, the United States Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defence for East Asia Dr Siddharth Mohandas and his South Korean counterpart also held a meeting on the sidelines of Integrated Defense Dialogue. According to the joint statement, both the diplomats prepared a roadmap to deal with the Pyongyang missile test.

"Both leaders underscored the importance of diplomacy and the resumption of dialogue to address the recent changes," read the joint statement. During the meet, the South Korean and American diplomats reiterated the shared goal of obtaining comprehensive denuclearisation and establishing permanent peace on the Korean peninsula.

South Korea urges North's Kim Jong Un to restore dormant communication hotlines

Earlier on September 27, Kim Yo Jong, the powerful sister of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, said the two Koreas can take steps toward reconciliation, following which South Korea urged Pyongyang to restore dormant communication hotlines. Though Jong asked South Korea to abandon hostile policies and double-dealing standards, experts familiar with the development between the two countries, asserted that the North might be seeking to extract concessions as it has raised tensions by carrying out its first missile tests in six months.

Soon after the recent talks between the two Koreas, South Korea's Unification Ministry said the country has been consistently pushing the North to achieve denuclearisation and peace on the Korean Peninsula through discussions. In May this year, the two rival nations briefly resumed communications over the channels but Pyongyang refused to continue after the South staged annual military drills with the United States.

Notably, North Korea carried out tests of ballistic and cruise missiles in its first such launches since March, earlier this month. According to experts, the main motive behind the ballistic and cruise missiles test was to exhibit its ability to attack key partners of the USA.

(With inputs from ANI, Image: AP)