President Lee confident of S. Korea-U.S. combat readiness against N. Korea

By Sam Kim
SEOUL, June 8 (Yonhap) -- South Korean President Lee Myung-bak met Monday with a
group of U.S. general-grade officers serving in his country and expressed
confidence that their combined forces can repel any armed North Korean
provocation.
The meeting at the presidential Choeng Wa Dae office in Seoul came amid
heightened tension on the divided peninsula after North Korea discarded the truce
that ended the 1950-53 Korean War.
The North, which conducted its second nuclear test on May 25, has also warned
against the safety of U.S. and South Korean naval vessels operating near its
western sea border.
"South Korea and the U.S. have established an alliance through which we can
perfectly defend against any North Korean provocation," Lee told the group that
included U.S. Gen. Walter Sharp, commander of the American forces here, according
to a statement released by Cheong Wa Dae.
The meeting was the first of its kind since 2003, and took place a little more
than a week before Lee will hold a summit with U.S. President Barack Obama in
Washington, the office said.
The U.S., which fought on the South Korean side in the Korean War, has about
28,500 forces stationed here as a deterrent against the North, which conducted
its first atomic test in 2006.
North Korea launched a long-range rocket on April 5 and appears to be moving on
both coasts to test-fire advanced missiles despite international sanctions, South
Korean officials said.
samkim@yna.co.kr
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