WASHINGTON, April 17 (KUNA) - US Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel welcomed late Wednesday the ratification of a special measures agreement by the Republic of Korea's (ROK) national assembly.
The agreement will see the ROK provide "support to offset costs associated with stationing US forces on the Korean Peninsula," said Hagel.
"The 2014-2018 cost-sharing agreement will provide for continued ROK support in logistics, labor, and construction and will help ensure that we have the resources necessary for the combined defense of the Korean Peninsula," he explained in a statement. "Since 1991, special measures agreements have served as a pillar of the shared commitment to the defense of the Korean Peninsula by combined US and ROK forces." "As the United States continues to rebalance toward the Asia-Pacific region, our commitment to the US-ROK Alliance will only grow stronger," he concluded.
Hagel's statement comes at the end of a two-day Korea-US Integrated Defense Dialogue (KIDD) of senior officials here, April 15-16.
The two sides issued a joint statement on Wednesday, highlighting North Korea as the major threat to the region.
"Recent North Korean provocations, including recent missile launches, artillery fire in the Yellow Sea, the infiltration of small unmanned aerial vehicles, and the looming threat of a fourth nuclear test undermine stability of the Korean Peninsula and the region," they said.
They also referred to ways "to strengthen coordinated actions and the importance of continued close collaboration within the alliance to enable better deterrence of and response to North Korean provocations." "The ROK and the US will continue cooperating to develop the future command structure, combined operational plans, ROK critical military capabilities, and US bridging and enduring capabilities," continued the statement.
The US affirmed its commitment "to provide and strengthen extended deterrence for the ROK using the full range of military capabilities, including the US nuclear umbrella, conventional strike, and missile defense capabilities." This is the fifth year for the meetings, with the sixth KIDD set to take place in Seoul in July.(end) ys.wsa