U.S. defense secretary reaffirms CVID goal: Yonhap

[AP / Yonhap]

SEOUL -- U.S. Defense Secretary James Mattis on Thursday reaffirmed Washington's goal for the complete, verifiable and irreversible denuclearization (CVID) of the peninsula, and its will to keep the current American troop level in South Korea.

The Pentagon chief made the remarks at the start of his talks with South Korean Defense Minister Song Young-moo in Seoul. "U.S. commitment to the Republic of Korea remains ironclad and the U.S. will continue to use a full range of diplomatic and military capabilities to uphold this commitment. This includes maintaining the current U.S. force levels on the Korean Peninsula," Mattis said.

"As always in close consultation with our Republic of Korea and other partners, our diplomats continue their work to achieve the complete, verifiable and irreversible denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula," he added. Trump's failure to codify the U.S. demand for the CVID in his June 12 summit agreement with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un also stoked worries about a possible retreat from it.

Mattis also touched on the allies' recent decision to suspend a major combined exercise, casting it as an effort to facilitate diplomacy on North Korea's denuclearization.

"The recent decision to suspend the Freedom Guardian exercise creates an increased opportunity for our diplomats to negotiate, increasing the prospects for a peaceful solution on the Korean Peninsula," he said. "At the same time, the U.S. and ROK forces remain united, vigilant and ready to defend against any challenge."
(Yonhap)

Lim Chang-won cwlim34@ajunews.com

U.S. defense secretary reaffirms CVID goal: Yonhap

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