South, U.S. vow 'stern response' to North's missiles, balloons

South Korean Defense Minister Shin Won-sik and U.S. Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin vowed to mount a "stern response" to North Korea's launches of trash-laden balloons and missiles during their meeting in Singapore.

South Korean Defense Minister Shin Won-sik, second from right, sits across from U.S. Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin, second from left, during their meeting on the sidelines of the Shangri-La Dialogue in Singapore on Sunday. [MINISTRY OF NATIONAL DEFENSE]

South Korean Defense Minister Shin Won-sik and U.S. Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin vowed to mount a "stern response" to North Korea's launches of trash-laden balloons and missiles during their meeting in Singapore, according to Seoul's Defense Ministry on Sunday.

The pair, who met on the sidelines of the Shangri-La Dialogue hosted by the International Institute for Strategic Studies, also criticized the North for escalating tensions on the Korean Peninsula and the wider Indo-Pacific region with its development of missiles and nuclear weapons, according to a press release issued by the ministry after their talks concluded on Sunday.

Shin and Austin also agreed to continue close cooperation through bilateral consultative groups, including the Nuclear Consultative Group, to strengthen the U.S. extended deterrence commitment to South Korea and counter the threat emanating from the North.

The ministry press release also quoted Shin as accusing the North of committing a “grave violation” of the armistice that terminated active hostilities in the 1950-53 Korean War by launching balloons carrying trash across the inter-Korean border.

The South Korean defense minister also promised to actively support an ongoing investigation into the balloon launches by the United Nations Command, which oversees the armistice.

Before his talks with Austin, Shin held his first trilateral meeting with Japanese Defense Minister Minoru Kihara and Australian Deputy Prime Minister and Defense Minister Richard Marles, where the three officials discussed ways to deter North Korean threats and pursue peace and stability, according to Seoul’s Defense Ministry.

During their bilateral meeting the previous day, Shin and Kihara reached an agreement to prevent the recurrence of a 2018 incident in which a Japanese maritime patrol aircraft made an unusually low-altitude flyby over a Korean warship.

At the time, Seoul said the Japanese plane approached the Korean ship in a “menacing” manner, while Tokyo accused the Korean ship of locking its weapons targeting radar on the Japanese plane.

Under the new agreement, Korea and Japan agreed that their ships and aircraft should maintain safe distances and altitudes from each other and engage in active communication during unplanned encounters at sea.

Shin and Kihara also announced in their joint statement that Seoul and Tokyo agreed to conduct regular talks between their vice defense ministers, working-level meetings and high-level exchanges between their military personnel to promote “essential” cooperation against North Korean threats.

“Both ministers concurred that South Korea-Japan security cooperation is the cornerstone of South Korea-U.S.-Japan security cooperation, which stands firm and is beneficial for two countries that share core values and strategic interest,” they said.

Austin welcomed the deal, saying in a statement that the agreement between Seoul and Tokyo would “strengthen their bilateral defense relationship, including measures to support operational safety and lines of communication.”

“Stronger bilateral cooperation between each of our countries helps advance trilateral cooperation among all of our countries,” Austin said.

Shin is also scheduled to hold a meeting with both Austin and Kihara on Sunday.

BY MICHAEL LEE [lee.junhyuk@joongang.co.kr]