Senior Korean, US Army officials discuss security cooperation in video talks

Acting Army Chief of Staff Gen. Ko Chang-jun, right, and Gen. Ronald Clark, head of the U.S. Army Pacific, hold virtual talks, in this photo released by Ko's office, April 22. Yonhap

Senior South Korean and U.S. Army officials held video talks Tuesday to discuss ways to bolster bilateral security cooperation, the armed services said.

Acting Army Chief of Staff Gen. Ko Chang-jun and Gen. Ronald Clark, head of the U.S. Army Pacific, discussed expanding high-level exchanges and combined drills to maintain the combined defense posture, according to the Army.

They also stressed the importance of regional multilateral security cooperation to deter North Korean provocations and for peace, stability and prosperity on the Korean Peninsula and in the Indo-Pacific region as they noted the role of their alliance for regional peace, it said.

Ko pledged to "closely" cooperate with the U.S. Army Pacific as he also thanked the U.S. Army for deploying helicopters to fight recent wildfires in South Korea's southeastern region.

Meanwhile, Clark stressed the importance of multinational drills and high level-exchanges to ensure multilateral security cooperation in the region, it said.