U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry on Monday (May 18) asked American troops stationed in South Korea to prepare for possible provocation from North Korea.
Kerry visited Yongsan Garrison in Seoul and delivered a speech to some of the U.S soldiers stationed there.
“Here, particular in this part of the world, as we see (North Korean leader) Kim Jong Un engaging in these extraordinary provocative activities, building nuclear weapons against all of the UN conventions, everything that we’ve tried to prevent together with the six party powers, Russia, China, Japan etc.,” Kerry told the soldiers.
“It’s dangerous, and nobody quite knows what a reckless person like this fellow will do. So you have to be prepared for every eventuality, which is why we redeployed some ships and forces and why we’re talking about THAAD and other things today,” he said referring to the Terminal High Altitude Area Defense anti-ballistic missile system.
North Korea is technically still at war with the South after the 1950-53 conflict and regularly threatens to destroy the United States, the South’s major ally.
Kerry also expressed gratitude to the troops’ services.
“Every single one of us in civilian life, everyday wake up and proudly say thank you to you for your service. We are deeply, deeply grateful for what you’re doing,” said Kerry.
U.S. military presence has been in South Korea since 1950-53 Korean War ended with a ‘truce treaty’, not a peace treaty. About 28,500 American troops are currently stationed in the country.
Earlier at a joint news conference with South Korean Foreign Minister Yun Byung-se, Kerry said the United States and China were discussing imposing further sanctions against North Korea, as the reclusive country was “not even close” to taking steps to rein in its nuclear weapons programme.
Kerry did not elaborate on possible measures and it was not clear whether he was referring to steps that would be taken by the two powers or by the United Nations.
The secretive North, officially named the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK), is already under heavy U.N., EU and U.S. sanctions for its missile and nuclear tests.
REUTERS
