Ministry of National Defense Republic of Korea

General Won, In Choul, Chairman of the ROK Joint Chiefs of Staff and General Mark Milley, the Chairman of the U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staff had a video call, confirming to maintain and develop the robust combined defense posture based on the ironclad ROK-U.S. Alliance.

General Won congratulated the new Biden administration and Secretary Austin's inauguration, and stated that he expects the ROK-U.S. Alliance, continued for 70 years, will continue to grow as a mutually complementary and future-oriented Alliance under the new leadership.

General Milley stated that the ROK-U.S. Alliance is the linchpin of the peace and prosperity in the region and highlighted that he would continue to closely work together to make the Alliance even stronger.

The two leaders shared their assessments of the security environment on the Korean Peninsula and agreed to provide active military support for the diplomatic efforts of the two countries to bring complete denuclearization and permanent peace on the Korean Peninsula.

The two leaders highly evaluated last year’s preparation efforts for the wartime OPCON transition, despite impacts from COVID19, and agreed to continue the effort this year as well in order to make visible progress on wartime OPCON transition by expediting the condition fulfillment.

The video call was conducted with the intention to strengthen the ROK-U.S. combined defense posture subsequent to the inauguration of the Biden administration and Secretary Austin.