Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin warned on Thursday that US forces were ready to “fight tonight” in response to the resumption of North Korean exercises between the United States and South Korea.
US and South Korean forces have resumed military operations after stopping operations more than a year ago due to coronavirus concerns.
“Our force remains ready to ‘fight tonight’ and we continue to make progress towards the possible transition of wartime operational control to a [Republic of Korea]-commanded, future command of the combined forces “, said Austin.
“While meeting all the conditions for this transition will take longer, I am confident that this process will strengthen our alliance,” the defense secretary continued.
Austin and Secretary of State Antony Blinken arrived in Japan on Monday for a four-day trip to reiterate America’s commitment to the region’s allies.
Washington’s diplomatic efforts, focused on denuclearizing North Korea, have stalled following sanctions sanctions. Experts weigh a potential compromise that would freeze the dictatorship’s nuclear activities in exchange for relaxing sanctions.
“We are dedicated to the denuclearization of North Korea, reducing the wider threat that the DPRK poses to the US and our allies and improving the lives of all Koreans, including the people of North Korea, who continue to suffer widespread and systematic abuses at the hands of their government. repressive, ”Austin told a news conference Thursday.
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un’s sister rebuked the Biden administration earlier this week as she slammed war exercises, which Pyongyang considers a rehearsal of invasion.
“We take this opportunity to warn the new US administration that is trying hard to give off the smell of dust in our country,” Kim Yo Jong said in a statement to the state news agency KCNA. “If he wants to sleep peacefully for the next four years, he should refrain from causing a stench at his first step.”
Some experts believe that the Hermit Kingdom will intensify its missile tests as a negotiation tactic. The country’s declining economy has shrunk due to recent natural disasters and pandemic-related border restrictions that have affected trade.
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