US Secretary of Defense Ashton Carter arrived here Thursday to meet with his South Korean counterpart on ways to improve joint defence capabilities on his first trip to Northeast Asia since taking office last month.
Drawing key attention is whether Carter will bring up the possible U.S. deployment of the Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) system on the peninsula, though Seoul and Washington officials have said they would not touch upon the sensitive issue at this time.
Washington has expressed its willingness to deploy the battery here to better protect South Korea and some 28,000 U.S. troops from the North's threats, Yonhap news agency reported.
Shortly after arriving here for a three-day stay following a visit to Japan, Carter had a meeting with U.S. troops stationed here at Osan Air Base in Pyeongtaek, some 70 kilometers south of Seoul, and looked around major facilities there including the Korea Air and Space Operations Center.
During the meeting with his soldiers, Carter thanked them for their dedication and asked for their best service, stressing that the Korean Peninsula is "one of the most dangerous places (in the world) and readiness is at a high premium here on the peninsula." He also reiterated the strong U.S. commitment to rebalance to the region.
On Friday, Carter is scheduled to pay a courtesy call on South Korean President Park Geun-hye before having talks with Defense Minister Han Min-koo. The two sides are to explore ways to strengthen joint capabilities and reinforce deterrence against evolving threats by North Korea's nuclear weapons and missiles.
The US secretary will leave here on Saturday for the country's Pacific Command in Hawaii on his way back home.