Today， the Vice President and I shared the view that on the basis of close cooperation and collaboration， the ROK－U.S. alliance has grown into an indispensable linchpin for peace and security on the Korean Peninsula and in Northeast Asia， as well as a successful strategic alliance that works together to resolve global challenges.
We have also reconfirmed our unwavering will to continue to make our alliance even stronger through further cooperation in the areas of security， economy and trade， and global issues.
Ten days ago on April 10th， I spoke with President Trump on the results of the U.S.－China summit and ways to work together going forward. Today with Vice President Pence we shared the understanding of the gravity and urgency of North Korea’s nuclear and missile threat and agreed to double our efforts to change North Korea’s strategic calculations by further tightening the global network of pressure on North Korea and thoroughly implementing sanctions under the unwavering principle of denying North Korea nuclear weapons.
Furthermore under the shared view that China’s constructive efforts and role are critical， we applaud the results of the recent U.S.－China summit， and we will closely strengthen our cooperation with China. If North Korea commits another provocation， we will swiftly implement intensive punitive measures based on our cooperation with China.
At the same time in response to North Korea’s continuously advancing nuclear and missile threat， we have agreed to continue to pursue various measures to strengthen our deterrence capabilities and combined defense posture to include extended deterrence. We have also agreed to further strengthen the readiness posture of the ROK－U.S. alliance in response to North Korea’s growing threat by ensuring the early deployment and operation of the USFK’s THAAD system.
In this respect I appreciate the United States taking a clear position on various occasions， including at the U.S.－China summit with regard to China’s unfair actions in connection with USFK’s deployment of THAAD. We have agree to continue to work together so that such unfair actions may come to an end at an early date.
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