Allies to hold talks on 'extended deterrence'

SEOUL, Jan. 15 (Yonhap) -- South Korea and the United States will open senior-level two-plus-two talks this week on Washington's security commitment, the Ministry of National Defense said Monday.

The Extended Deterrence Strategy and Consultation Group (EDSCG) meeting, the second of its kind, will be held in Washington D.C. on Wednesday (local time) and will be attended by diplomats and defense officials of both countries.

They include Vice Foreign Minister Lim Sung-nam and Vice Defense Minister Suh Choo-suk, as well as Thomas Shannon, under secretary of state for political affairs, and David Trachtenberg, deputy under secretary of defense for policy.

"In the session this time, (the two sides) plan to discuss comprehensive deterrence against North Korea, including extended deterrence," the ministry said.

The U.S. keeps 28,500 troops here as a legacy of the 1950-53 Korean War, which ended in a truce. In addition, it has officially assured South Korea that it will provide all necessary options, both nuclear and conventional, to deter aggression by the North.

The two sides agreed to regularize the EDSCG meeting in summit talks last June. Their defense chiefs agreed that it should be held at an early date when they met in Seoul for the annual Security Consultative Meeting (SCM) in October.

lcd@yna.co.kr
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