The United States has signed a new military agreement with South Korea that would see US troops come to Seoul’s aid in the case of a low-level provocation by the North. This comes amid heightened tensions in the region.
A spokesman for South Korea's defense ministry told reporters in Seoul on Monday that existing agreements provide for US support should a full-scale conflict break out, until now, there had been no provisions for such support in the case of a low-level incident.
"This allows both nations to jointly respond to the North's local provocations, with the South taking the lead and the US in support," Kim Min-Seok said. "It will have the effect of preventing the North from daring to provoke us."
The chairman of South Korea's joint chiefs of staff, General Jung Seung-Jo, said the deal would provide for a "strong retaliation" that would ensure that Pyongyang would come to "bitterly regret" any act of provocation.
A statement posted on the website of the US Forces South Korea said the Combined Counter-Provocation Plan, which was signed on Friday, "improved our combined readiness posture to allow us to immediately and decisively respond to any North Korean provocation."
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