US, South Korea sign agreement aimed at deterring North Korea’s advancing nuclear and missile threat

United States and South Korea have revised a bilateral security agreement aimed at deterring North Korea’s advancing nuclear and missile threat. South Korean Defence Minister Shin Won-sik and his US counterpart Lloyd Austin signed the updated agreement at the security talks held in the capital, Seoul today.

South Korean Defence Ministry said, the Tailored Deterrence Strategy (TDS) aims to counter the threat of nuclear weapons and other armaments by North Korea. The revisions made to the agreement have not been made public yet.

Earlier, South Korea’s Defence Ministry had said Shin and Austin would discuss jointly countering threats by North Korea, including through executing an extended deterrence strategy. The strategy, which holds that the United states will use strategic military assets, including nuclear forces, to defend its allies, has taken on a greater significance as North Korea pushes ahead with its ballistic missile and nuclear programmes.