New U.S. defense chief set to arrive in S. Korea
SEOUL. KAZINFORM - U.S. Defense Secretary Mark Esper was to arrive in South Korea on Thursday for talks that are expected to include a series of requests Washington has been making to Seoul, including a greater financial contribution to the costs of stationing American troops here, Yonhap reports.
Also expected to be on the agendafor Esper's talks with South Korean Defense Minister Jeong Kyeong-doo are theU.S. initiative to secure the shipping routes in the Strait of Hormuz andWashington's wish to get a military information-sharing pact between the Southand Japan renewed.
Esper is scheduled to land in SouthKorea later in the day from Mongolia for a two-day visit as part of hisfive-nation trip to the Asia-Pacific region. His trip includes stops inAustralia, New Zealand and Japan, according to defense ministry officials. Itis his first overseas travel since taking office last month.
On Friday, he plans to meet withJeong to discuss pending issues, including «ways to boost cooperation forthe denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula and the condition-based transferof the wartime operational control,» Jeong's office said in a release.
After the talks, the two sides areexpected to publicly release details on the Seoul-Washington combined militaryexercise.
The allies practically kicked offtheir summertime combined exercise on Monday, though neither side hasofficially confirmed its commencement in apparent consideration of North Korea,which has sent strong warnings repeatedly against the exercise by launchingshort-range missiles.
The command post exercise is meantto test South Korea's initial operational capability (IOC) for the envisionedOPCON transfer from Washington to Seoul, according to the officials.
During his visit, Esper is alsolikely to reiterate U.S. support for the General Security of MilitaryInformation Agreement (GSOMIA), the military information-sharing pact betweenSeoul and Tokyo, as a key trilateral security mechanism, due to the possibilityof its abrogation amid a trade and diplomatic row between the two countries.
Also drawing attention is whethertough and sensitive issues will also be on the table, including Seoul'spossible participation in the U.S.-led coalition to safeguard the Strait ofHormuz off Iran amid heightened tensions between Washington and Tehran.
The U.S. is struggling to drum upsupport for its efforts to counter Iranian activities in the strategicallycrucial sea lane, and South Korea is known to have been reviewing variousoptions, though no formal requests regarding the matter have been received.
Esper's visit also comes as theU.S. is calling on Seoul to pay more for the upkeep of the 28,500-strong U.S.Forces Korea. While President Donald Trump tweeted Wednesday that the twonations have begun talks on the issue, the foreign ministry here said their officialnegotiation has yet to be launched.
The defense chief is also expectedto pay a courtesy call on President Moon Jae-in.
Esper, who served the secretary ofthe Army, was sworn in as the 27th Secretary of Defense in July after sevenmonths of turmoil surrounding the top job at the Pentagon since James Mattisresigned the post in December.