SEOUL, Dec. 16 (Yonhap) -- Highlighting his mantle as commander in chief, Acting President and Prime Minister Hwang Kyo-ahn visited the headquarters of South Korea-U.S. Combined Forces Command (CFC) in Seoul on Friday.

He called on South Korean and U.S. troops here to maintain full readiness against possible North Korean provocations to address growing security concerns at the time of a national crisis.





"I call on the South Korea-U.S. alliance to closely watch the possibility of any North Korean provocations and be fully prepared to immediately and strongly retaliate if provoked," Hwang said.

"In the midst of North Korea's nuclear capabilities advancing and getting tangible, the North recently carried out drills to strike (the presidential office) Cheong Wa Dae and other exercises in a show of force, which have been escalating people's security jitters," he added.

The acting president, in particular, raised the possibility that Pyongyang could engage in provocative acts to test the alliance's military readiness and induce a shift in the international community's sanctions-centric approach toward the regime.

"I hope that under this grave security situation, CFC commanders will unwaveringly maintain a thorough defense posture," Hwang said.

Following Pyongyang's two nuclear tests and a series of ballistic missile launches this year, the international community has focused on pressuring the unruly state into abandoning its nuclear and missile programs mostly through multilateral and standalone sanctions.

Last month, the U.N. Security Council adopted Resolution 2321 in response to the North's fifth and latest nuclear test on Sept. 9. The latest resolution entails a new set of tough sanctions such as restrictions on coal exports, which are aimed at choking off money flow into Pyongyang.

Seoul, Washington and Tokyo have also announced their own unilateral sanctions, further tightening the screws on the recalcitrant regime.

During the meeting with top U.S. and South Korean officials, Hwang also hailed the alliance as the world's "most successful and sturdiest" security partnership.

The meeting was attended by Defense Minister Han Min-koo, CFC Commander Gen. Vincent Brooks, U.S. Ambassador to South Korea Mark Lippert, and Kim Kwan-jin, the chief of the National Security Office under Cheong Wa Dae, among other officials.

The U.S. maintains 28,500 troops here in the South mainly as a deterrent against North Korean aggression and provocations.

sshluck@yna.co.kr
Yonhap News