South Korea's Defence chief, US Army Secretary discuss drone cooperation

Seoul, Oct 2 South Korea's Defence Minister Ahn Gyu-back and US Secretary of Army Daniel Driscoll held talks Thursday, discussing ways to strengthen bilateral cooperation in areas including the arms industry and drone development, the defence ministry said.

In the talks held in Seoul, Ahn said bilateral military trust and cooperation have driven their bilateral alliance and proposed for close cooperation on further advancing such ties.

Both sides concurred on the importance of maintaining a robust combined defence posture to deter and respond to North Korea's nuclear and missile threats, with Ahn underscoring the role of the US Forces Korea for peace and stability on the Korean Peninsula.

The defence chief called for expanding mutually beneficial cooperation in areas of science technology and arms industry maintenance, repair and overhaul (MRO), to which Driscoll concurred.

Ahn and Driscoll also concurred on the growing importance of drones in future warfare and agreed to expand joint research, production and operation of such unmanned assets, according to the ministry, Yonhap News Agency reported.

Earlier in September, the top diplomats of South Korea, the United States and Japan have reaffirmed their "resolute" commitment to the denuclearisation of North Korea, a joint statement showed, after the North's leader urged Washington to drop that goal as a condition for resuming talks with Pyongyang.

The statement was released after Foreign Minister Cho Hyun, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Japanese Foreign Minister Takeshi Iwaya met on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly in New York for talks on their partnership and other shared issues, including North Korea's nuclear threats.

The statement came a day after North Korean leader Kim Jong-un suggested he is open to engaging in dialogue with US President Donald Trump's administration if Washington drops its denuclearisation demand, saying he has no intention of relinquishing his nuclear stockpiles.

"The Secretary and Foreign Ministers reaffirmed their resolute commitment to the denuclearisation of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) in accordance with relevant United Nations Security Council (UNSC) resolutions, while continuing to make efforts to maintain peace and stability on the Korean Peninsula through dialogue and diplomacy," the statement read, referring to North Korea by its official name.

"They emphasised the need to address together the DPRK's nuclear and missile programs and to maintain and strengthen the sanctions regime against the DPRK by responding firmly and in cooperation with other countries to violations and evasions of the relevant UNSC resolutions."

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