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Malaysia detains woman, seeking others in connection with North Korean murder

Kim Jong Nam arriving at Beijing Airport

By Ju-min Park and A. Ananthalakshmi

SEOUL/KUALA LUMPUR (Reuters) – Malaysian police on Wednesday detained a woman holding Vietnam travel papers and are looking for a “few” other foreign suspects in connection with the assassination of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un’s estranged half-brother, police said.

Lawmakers in South Korea had earlier cited their spy agency as saying it suspected two female North Korean agents had murdered Kim Jong Nam, and U.S. government sources also told Reuters they believed North Korean assassins were responsible.

The portly and gregarious Kim Jong Nam, the eldest son of late North Korean leader Kim Jong Il, was assaulted on Monday morning in the departure hall of Kuala Lumpur International Airport and died on the way to hospital, Malaysian police said.

The woman detained at Kuala Lumpur airport was identified from CCTV footage at the airport and was alone when she was apprehended, police said in a statement.Media had earlier published a grainy CCTV-captured image of a young woman wearing a white shirt with the letters “LOL” on the front.

Documents she carried were in the name of Doan Thi Huong, showed a birth date of May 1998 and birthplace of Nam Dinh, Vietnam, police said.

“Police are looking for a few others, all foreigners,” Deputy Inspector-General Noor Rashid Ibrahim told Reuters, declining to give their nationalities or gender.

South Korean intelligence believes Kim Jong Nam was poisoned, the lawmakers in South Korea’s capital, Seoul, said.

The spy agency told them that the young and unpredictable North Korean leader had issued a “standing order” for his half-brother’s assassination, and that there had been a failed attempt in 2012.

“The cause of death is strongly suspected to be a poisoning attack,” said South Korean lawmaker Kim Byung-kee, who was briefed by the spy agency.

Kim had been at the airport’s budget terminal to catch a flight to Macau on Monday when someone grabbed or held his face from behind, after which he felt dizzy and sought help at an information desk, Malaysian police official Fadzil Ahmat said.

According to South Korea’s spy agency, Kim Jong Nam had been living, under Beijing’s protection, with his second wife in the Chinese territory of Macau, the lawmakers said. One of them said Kim Jong Nam also had a wife and son in Beijing.

Kim had spoken out publicly against his family’s dynastic control of the isolated state.

“If the murder of Kim Jong Nam was confirmed to be committed by the North Korean regime, that would clearly depict the brutality and inhumanity of the Kim Jong Un regime,” South Korean Prime Minister Hwang Kyo-ahn, who is also acting president, told a security meeting.

The meeting was called in response to Kim Jong Nam’s death, news of which first emerged late on Tuesday.

‘SENSE OF DANGER’

South Korea is acutely sensitive to any sign of instability in isolated North Korea, and is still technically in a state of war with its impoverished and nuclear-armed neighbor, which carried out its latest ballistic missile test on Sunday.

Malaysian police said Kim held a passport under the name Kim Chol, with a birth date that made him 46.

Kim Jong Nam was known to spend a significant amount of time outside North Korea, traveling in Macau and Hong Kong as well as mainland China, and has been caught in the past using forged travel documents.

His body was taken on Wednesday to a second hospital, where an autopsy was being performed. North Korean embassy officials had arrived at the hospital and were coordinating with authorities, police sources said.

There was no mention of Kim Jong Nam’s death in North Korean media.

In Beijing, a foreign ministry spokesman said China was aware of the reports and closely following developments.

Yoji Gomi, a Japanese journalist who wrote a 2012 book on Kim Jong Nam, said Kim’s media appearances, which increased around the time South Korean intelligence said he was targeted for assassination, may have been an attempt to protect himself.

“I now have the impression that even he may have had a sense of danger, so he began exposing himself in the media and stating his opinions to protect himself and counter North Korea,” Gomi told a talk show on Japan’s NTV.

North Korean agents have killed rivals abroad before.

South Korea’s spy agency said Kim Jong Nam wrote a letter to Kim Jong Un in 2012 asking that the lives of him and his family be spared, one of the lawmakers said.

“Kim Jong Un may have been worried about more and more North Korean elites turning against him after Thae Yong Ho defected to the South,” said Koh Yu-hwan, an expert on the North Korean leadership at Dongguk University in Seoul, referring to last year’s defection by North Korea’s deputy ambassador in London.

Numerous North Korean officials have been purged or killed since Kim Jong Un took power following his father’s death in 2011. Those include his uncle Jang Song Thaek, who was considered the country’s second most-powerful person and was believed to have been close to Kim Jong Nam.

Jang was executed on Kim Jong Un’s orders in 2013.

(Reporting by Ju-min Park, Cynthia Kim, Hyunjoo Jin and Yun Hwan Chae in SEOUL, Joseph Sipalan, Praveen Menon and Emily Chow in KUALA LUMPUR, and Philip Wen in BEIJING; Writing by Tony Munroe and John Chalmers)

North Korean leader’s half brother killed in Malaysia: source

North Korean half brother to Kim Jong Un

By Ju-min Park and Joseph Sipalan

SEOUL/KUALA LUMPUR (Reuters) – The estranged half-brother of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has been killed in Malaysia, a South Korean government source told Reuters on Tuesday.

Kim Jong Nam, the older half brother of the North Korean leader, was known to spend a significant amount of his time outside the country and had spoken out publicly against his family’s dynastic control of the isolated state.

He was believed to be in his mid-40s.

Police in Malaysia told Reuters on Tuesday an unidentified North Korean man had died en route to hospital from Kuala Lumpur airport on Monday. Abdul Aziz Ali, police chief for the Sepang district, said the man’s identity had not been verified.

An employee in the emergency ward of Putrajaya hospital said a deceased Korean there was born in 1970 and surnamed Kim.

South Korea’s TV Chosun, a cable television network, said that Kim was poisoned at Kuala Lumpur airport by two women believed to be North Korean operatives, who were at large, citing multiple South Korean government sources.

The South Korean government source who spoke to Reuters did not immediately provide further details.

South Korea’s foreign ministry said it could not confirm the reports, and the country’s intelligence agency could not immediately be reached for comment.

Kim Jong Nam and Kim Jong Un are both sons of former leader Kim Jong Il, who died in late 2011, but they had different mothers.

Kim Jong Nam was believed to be close to his uncle, Jang Song Thaek, who was North Korea’s second most powerful man before being executed on Kim Jong Un’s orders in 2013.

In 2001, Kim Jong Nam was caught at an airport in Japan traveling on a fake passport, saying he had wanted to visit Tokyo Disneyland. He was known to travel to Hong Kong, Macau and mainland China.

He said several times over the years that he had no interest in leading his country.

“Personally I am against third-generation succession,” he told Japan’s Asahi TV in 2010, before his younger had succeeded their father.

“I hope my younger brother will do his best for the sake of North Koreans’ prosperous lives.”

(Reporting by Ju-min Park and Se Young Lee in SEOUL and Joseph Sipalan And Emily Chow in KUALA LUMPUR; Writing by Tony Munroe; Editing by Robert Birsel)

North Korea says missile launch ‘self-defense’, U.S. demands action

A test-fire of strategic submarine-launched ballistic missile is seen in this undated photo released by North Korea's Korean Central News Agency

By Stephanie Nebehay

GENEVA (Reuters) – North Korea said on Tuesday its missile launches were “self-defense measures”, rejecting U.N. Security Council criticism of its weekend test, but the United States demanded international action against Pyongyang’s weapons programs.

North Korea’s ballistic missile firing on Sunday was its first direct challenge to the international community since U.S. President Donald Trump took office on Jan. 20.

The missile had a range of more than 2,000 kms (1,240 miles), according to South Korea’s intelligence agency. It reached an altitude of about 550 km and flew about 500 km towards Japan before splashing into the sea east of the Korean peninsula.

The U.N. Security Council on Monday denounced the launch, urging members to “redouble efforts” to enforce sanctions against the reclusive state, but gave no indications of any action it might take.

Han Tae Song, the new Ambassador of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK) to the United Nations in Geneva, addressed the U.N.-backed Conference on Disarmament a day after taking up his post.

“The various test fires conducted by DPRK for building up self-defense capabilities are, with no exception, self-defense measures to protect national sovereignty and the safety of the people against direct threats by hostile forces,” Han told the 61-member-state forum.

“My delegation strongly rejects the latest statement of the U.N. Security Council and all U.N. resolutions against my country.”

U.S. Ambassador Robert Wood said: “All efforts to advance North Korea’s nuclear weapons and ballistic missile capabilities must cease,” adding: “If ever there were a situation that called for international collective action to ensure our mutual security, it is this.”

RESTRAINT

China, North Korea’s main ally, said the missile launch violated Security Council resolutions but called on all parties to “exercise restraint”. The way to defuse the situation was through dialogue, China said, calling for a return to talks.

U.S., Japanese and South Korean military officials held a teleconference on Monday in which they condemned the launch as “a clear violation” of multiple Security Council resolutions. The United States “reaffirmed its iron-clad security commitments” to South Korea and Japan, the Pentagon said.

Han said the divided Korean peninsula “remains the world’s biggest hotspot with a constant danger of war”. He condemned joint military exercises carried out annually by South Korea and the United States, as well as what he called “nuclear threats” and blackmail towards his country.

“It is the legitimate self-defense right of the sovereign state to possess strong deterrence to cope with such threat by hostile forces aimed at overthrowing the state and the socialist system,” he said.

South Korea’s Ambassador Choi Kyong-lim said the test showed “the unreasonable nature of the DPRK and their fanatical obsession with the pursuit of nuclear weapons and ballistic missiles”. Japan’s disarmament Ambassador Nobushige Takamizawa urged Pyongyang not to take further “provocative actions” that undermine peace and security in the region.

(Reporting by Stephanie Nebehay; Editing by Janet Lawrence)

Tillerson stresses cooperation in calls with Australia, Japan, South Korea

By David Brunnstrom and Lesley Wroughton

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson has underscored Washington’s intent to strengthen ties with Australia, Japan and South Korea, the State Department said on Tuesday, a move aimed at reassuring allies unnerved by the campaign rhetoric of new President Donald Trump.

In separate calls with counterparts from the three long-time allies, they agreed to work closely to tackle threats from North Korea’s nuclear ambitions and increased tensions in the East and South China seas, State Department spokesman Mark Toner said,

“Secretary Tillerson reiterated the Administration’s intent to strengthen our military alliances, our economic partnerships, and our diplomatic cooperation,” he said in a statement.

Tillerson expressed interest in early meetings with his counterparts “and expressed his deep respect for their nations’ contributions to regional security, global prosperity, democratic institutions, and the rule of law,” it said.

The calls come at a time of raised concerns in the Asia-Pacific about Trump’s attitude to the region.

During his election campaign, Trump appeared to question U.S. alliances with Tokyo and Seoul and complained that they were not sharing enough of the cost of the U.S. security umbrella. Trump has also criticized Japan’s trade policies as damaging to U.S. jobs.

More recently ties with Australia were strained after details of an acrimonious phone call between Trump and Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull emerged and the former described a deal between the two nations on refugee resettlement as “dumb.”

Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe is due to visit Washington for a two-day summit with Trump from Friday that is expected to focus on security ties in the face of a rising China and trade.

Earlier on Tuesday, Japan’s Kyodo news agency quoted Japanese Foreign Minister Fumio Kishida as saying that Tillerson had confirmed that a long-standing commitment by Washington to defend Japanese territory applies to the Senkakus, a group of small islands that China claims and calls the Diaoyus.

The State Department declined to comment on the Kyodo report but U.S. Defense Secretary Jim Mattis reaffirmed America’s commitment to its mutual defense treaty with Japan on Friday when he met Abe in Tokyo and in a call with Abe in late January. Trump said the U.S. security commitment was “ironclad.

Turnbull’s leadership was questioned after he was berated by Trump and an opinion poll published on Monday showed support for his coalition had slipped to its lowest level since he took power 17 months ago and that his Liberal-National coalition would easily fall if an election were held now.

(Reporting by Lesley Wroughton and David Brunnstrom; editing by Diane Craft, Bernard Orr)

U.S. should expand missile defense due to North Korea, Iran: lawmaker

U.S. Rep Mac Thornberry discussing missile defense against Iran and North Korea

By Patricia Zengerle

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The United States should invest more in missile defense given missile testing by North Korea and Iran, the chairman of the House of Representatives Armed Services Committee said on Monday.

The comments by Republican Representative Mac Thornberry followed new U.S. sanctions against Iran after Tehran’s recent ballistic missile tests. Washington is also concerned North Korea may be preparing to test a new ballistic missile.

Thornberry’s position was a sign of support in Congress for military spending to counter North Korea after President Donald Trump during the 2016 election campaign raised doubts about future U.S. funding to defend allies like South Korea and Japan.

“If you look at what’s happening around the world, I would mention Iran and North Korea, the importance of missile defense is increasing,” Thornberry said at a roundtable discussion with reporters.

He said there was a need both to provide more systems and to improve missile defense technology. “Actors around the world are building missiles that are harder to stop,” he added.

Jim Mattis, Trump’s defense secretary, told South Korea last week that Washington and Seoul would stand “shoulder-to-shoulder” to face the threat from North Korea.

Both South Korea and the United States have recommitted to plans to deploy an $800 million advanced missile defense system in South Korea later this year.

More broadly, Thornberry also said he expected an end to strict limits on defense spending now that Republicans control both Congress and the White House.

The 2011 Budget Control Act imposed across-the-board cuts on government spending, and under former President Barack Obama, a Democrat, congressional Democrats were able to ward off Republican pushes to increase the defense budget without also raising spending on non-defense items such as education and medical research.

“I think we have a tremendous opportunity to do the right thing,” Thornberry said. “There’s more of the federal budget being looked at, in play, if you will, than has been the case for many years.”

The Trump administration is expected within weeks to send Congress a request for a supplemental bill to increase defense spending this year.

(Reporting by Patricia Zengerle; Editing by Andrew Hay)

North Korea sacks head of secret police amid signs of ‘crack in elite’

By Ju-min Park and James Pearson

SEOUL (Reuters) – North Korea has dismissed its minister of state security, a key aide to the reclusive state’s young leader, Kim Jong Un, South Korea said on Friday, in what a high-profile defector said would be another sign of a “crack in the elite” in Pyongyang if true.

Kim Won Hong was removed from office as head of the feared “bowibu”, or secret police, in mid-January apparently on charges of corruption, abuse of power and human rights abuses, Jeong Joon-hee, South Korea’s Unification Ministry spokesman, said, confirming media reports.

Jeong did not say how the South knew of Kim’s ouster. But he said there could have been further dismissals in the North where the ruling Workers’ Party’s powerful Organisation and Guidance Department was investigating the ministry of state security.

“There is always a possibility that purges continue as part of constantly strengthening power,” he told a briefing, adding punishment for Kim could be more severe depending on the outcome of the investigation, but he had been dismissed and demoted from the rank of general to major general.

Kim Jong Un became leader in 2011 after the death of his father, Kim Jong Il, and his consolidation of power has included purges and executions of top officials, South Korean officials have said.

Last year, North Korea’s vice premier for education was executed for not keeping his posture upright at a public event, South Korea said.

Thae Yong Ho, North Korea’s former deputy ambassador to London who has defected to the South, told Reuters he was not surprised by the news.

“I cannot confirm if the reports are true or not, but this kind of power struggle is quite normal in North Korean history. Kim Jong Il and Kim Jong Un’s style of control is always one of collective surveillance that checks the power of each organization.

“Kim Jong Un has killed too many high officials and there are a lot of complaints and dissent amongst the high elite because of it. If the demotion of Kim Won Hong is really true, then that’s another sign of a crack in the North Korean elite group.”

It is difficult to independently verify news about top officials in the North, which has angered the West with a series of missile and nuclear weapons tests in defiance of U.N. resolutions and sanctions.

Some reports of executions and purges have proved inaccurate.

North Korea rarely announces purges or executions, although state media confirmed the 2012 execution of Kim’s uncle, Jang Song Thaek, widely considered the country’s second most powerful leader, for factionalism and crimes damaging to the economy.

A former defense minister, Hyun Yong Chol, is also believed to have been executed in 2015 for treason, according to the South’s spy agency.

It said he was killed with an anti-aircraft gun.

Impoverished North Korea and the rich, democratic South are technically still at war because their 1950-53 conflict ended in a truce, not a peace treaty. The North regularly threatens to destroy the South and its main ally, the United States.

(Additional reporting by Jack Kim; Editing by Nick Macfie, Robert Birsel)

U.S. warns North Korea of ‘overwhelming’ response if nuclear arms used

US Defense Scretary shakes hands with South Korean government official

By Phil Stewart

SEOUL (Reuters) – U.S. President Donald Trump’s defense secretary warned North Korea on Friday of an “effective and overwhelming” response if it chose to use nuclear weapons, as he reassured South Korea of steadfast U.S. support.

“Any attack on the United States, or our allies, will be defeated, and any use of nuclear weapons would be met with a response that would be effective and overwhelming,” Defense Secretary Jim Mattis said at South Korea’s defense ministry, at the end of a two-day visit.

Mattis’ remarks come amid concern that North Korea could be readying to test a new ballistic missile, in what could be an early challenge for Trump’s administration.

North Korea, which regularly threatens to destroy South Korea and its main ally, the United States, conducted more than 20 missile tests last year, as well as two nuclear tests, in defiance of U.N. resolutions and sanctions.

The North also appears to have also restarted operation of a reactor at its main Yongbyon nuclear facility that produces plutonium that can be used for its nuclear weapons program, according to the U.S. think-tank 38 North.

“North Korea continues to launch missiles, develop its nuclear weapons program and engage in threatening rhetoric and behavior,” Mattis said.

North Korea’s actions have prompted the United States and South Korea to respond by bolstering defenses, including the expected deployment of a U.S. missile defense system, known as Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD), in South Korea later this year.

The two sides reconfirmed that commitment on Friday.

China, however, has objected to THAAD, saying it is a direct threat to China’s own security and will do nothing to bring North Korea back to the negotiating table, leading to calls from some South Korean opposition leaders to delay or cancel it.

Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Lu Kang reiterated China’s opposition, which he said would never change.

“We do not believe this move will be conducive to resolving the Korean peninsula nuclear issue or to maintaining peace and stability on the peninsula,” Lu told a daily news briefing in Beijing.

South Korean Defense Minister Han Min-koo said Mattis’ visit to Seoul – his first trip abroad as defense secretary – sent a clear message of strong U.S. support.

“Faced with a current severe security situation, Secretary Mattis’ visit to Korea … also communicates the strongest warning to North Korea,” Han said.

Once fully developed, a North Korean intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) could threaten the continental United States, which is about 9,000 km (5,500 miles) from North Korea. ICBMs have a minimum range of about 5,500 km (3,400 miles), but some are designed to travel 10,000 km (6,200 miles) or more.

Former U.S. officials and other experts have said the United States essentially has two options when it comes to trying to curb North Korea’s fast-expanding nuclear and missile programs – negotiate or take military action.

Neither path offers certain success and the military option is fraught with huge dangers, especially for Japan and South Korea, U.S. allies in close proximity to North Korea.

Mattis is due in Japan later on Friday.

(Additional reporting by Ben Blanchard in Beijing; Editing by Nick Macfie, Robert Birsel)

Trump’s defense chief heads to Asia, eying China, North Korea threat

President Trump with Defense Secretary Mattis

By Phil Stewart and Nobuhiro Kubo

WASHINGTON/TOKYO (Reuters) – President Donald Trump’s defense secretary is expected to underscore U.S. security commitments to key allies South Korea and Japan on his debut trip to Asia this week as concerns mount over North Korea’s missile program and tensions with China.

The trip is the first for retired Marine General James Mattis since becoming Trump’s Pentagon chief and is also the first foreign trip by any of Trump’s cabinet secretaries.

Officials say the fact that Mattis is first heading to Asia – as opposed to perhaps visiting troops in Iraq or Afghanistan – is meant to reaffirm ties with two Asian allies hosting nearly 80,000 American troops and the importance of the region overall.

That U.S. reaffirmation could be critical after Trump appeared to question the cost of such U.S. alliances during the election campaign. He also jolted the region by pulling Washington out of an Asia-Pacific trade deal that Japan had championed.

“It’s a reassurance message,” said one Trump administration official, speaking on condition of anonymity.

“This is for all of the people who were concerned during the campaign that then-candidate, now-president, Trump was skeptical of our alliances and was somehow going to retreat from our traditional leadership role in the region.”

Trump himself has spoken with the leaders of both Japan and South Korea in recent days and will host Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe in Washington on Feb. 10.

Mattis leaves the United States on Feb. 1, heading first to Seoul before continuing to Tokyo on Feb. 3.

DEFENSE SPENDING

Trump singled out both South Korea and Japan on the campaign trail, suggesting they were benefiting from the U.S. security umbrella without sharing enough of the costs.

In one 2016 television interview, Trump said of the 28,500 U.S. troops deployed to South Korea: “We get practically nothing compared to the cost of this. Why are we doing this?”

Mattis, in his confirmation hearing, appeared to play down those remarks, noting that there was a long history of U.S. presidents and even defense secretaries calling on allies to pay their fair share of defense costs.

But his visit to the region comes amid concerns North Korea may be readying to test a new ballistic missile, in what could be an early challenge for Trump’s administration.

Speaking with South Korean Defense Minister Han Min-koo ahead of his trip, Mattis reaffirmed a U.S. commitment to defend the country and “provide extended deterrence using the full range of U.S. capabilities.”

Analysts expect Mattis to seek an update on South Korea’s early moves to host a Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) system, which, once in place sometime in 2017, would defend against North Korea’s nuclear and ballistic capabilities.

Still, a South Korean military official played down expectations of any big announcements during the trip, saying Mattis’ first visit would likely be “an ice-breaking session” for both countries.

In Tokyo, Mattis is to meet Defense Minister Tomomi Inada, who has repeatedly said Japan is bearing its fair share of the costs for U.S. troops stationed there and has stressed that the alliance is good for both nations.

Japan’s defense spending remains around 1 percent of GDP, far behind China, which is locked in a dispute with Japan over a group of East China Sea islets 220 km (140 miles) northeast of Taiwan known as the Senkakus in Tokyo and the Diaoyus in Beijing.

The trip also comes amid growing concern about China’s military moves in the South China Sea. Tension with Beijing escalated last week when Trump’s White House vowed to defend “international territories” there.

China responded by saying it had “irrefutable” sovereignty over disputed islands in the strategic waterway.

“What U.S. military people say is that considering the pace of China’s military build-up such as anti-ship missiles and fighters, there are worries about Japan’s capabilities,” said a senior Japanese defense ministry official, speaking on condition of anonymity.

(Reporting by Phil Stewart; Additional reporting by Linda Sieg in Tokyo, Matt Spetalnick and David Brunnstrom in Washington, and Ju-min Park in Seoul; Editing by Dan Grebler)

U.S., South Korea to defend against ‘evolving’ North Korean threat

WASHINGTON/SEOUL (Reuters) – U.S. Defense Secretary James Mattis and his South Korean counterpart agreed during a phone call on Monday to strengthen their defense against “the evolving North Korean threat,” the Pentagon said, amid reports the North may be preparing a new missile test.

Mattis, who is to visit South Korea on Thursday, reaffirmed to South Korean Defense Minister Han Min-koo the U.S. commitment to defend the country and “provide extended deterrence using the full range of U.S. capabilities,” the Pentagon said in a statement.

The South Korean Defense Ministry said in a statement the two sides had agreed to deploy the Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) system in South Korea as planned to defend against North Korea’s nuclear and ballistic capabilities.

China has objected to THAAD, saying it will destabilize the regional security balance, leading to calls from some South Korean opposition leaders to delay or cancel it.

Mattis’s visit to the region comes amid reports that the North may be readying to test a new ballistic missile in what could be an early challenge for of U.S. President Donald Trump’s administration.

The North also appears to have restarted operation of a reactor at its main Yongbyon nuclear facility that produces plutonium that can be used for its nuclear weapons program, according to a U.S. think tank.

North Korea has carried out a series of nuclear and missile tests in defiance of U.N sanctions. It conducted its fifth nuclear test in September. North and South are technically still at war because their 1950-53 conflict ended in a truce, not a peace treaty.

Mattis also met Jordan’s King Abdullah at the Pentagon and expressed his deep appreciation for Jordan’s contributions to the fight against Islamic State, the Pentagon statement said.

(Reporting by Idrees Ali and Ju-min Park in Seoul; Editing by Nick Macfie)

Trump, South Korea’s Hwang agree to strengthen defenses against North Korea: White House

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – U.S. President Donald Trump and South Korean Acting President Hwang Kyo-ahn agreed to take steps to strengthen joint defense capabilities to defend against North Korea’s nuclear threat, the White House said on Sunday after a telephone call between the two leaders.

“President Trump reiterated our ironclad commitment to defend (South Korea), including through the provision of extended deterrence, using the full range of military capabilities,” the White House said in a statement.

It also said Trump and Hwang discussed the upcoming visit by the new U.S. defense secretary to Japan and South Korea, where shared concerns about North Korea will top the agenda.

The United States and South Korea have agreed to deploy a Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) system designed to protect against North Korea’s growing nuclear and ballistic capabilities despite objections from China, which says the radar could penetrate Chinese territory.

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un said on Jan. 1 his country was close to test-launching an intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM), and state media has said a launch could come at any time.

North Korea has maintained its nuclear and missile programs in violation of repeated rounds of international sanctions.

(Reporting by Lesley Wroughton; Editing by Lisa Von Ahn and Will Dunham)

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