<Anchor>



Overnight in Washington, the US and ROK Secretary of Defense issued a joint statement after completing the annual Security Council.

However, the phrase that was always included, the content of maintaining the USFK at the current level, was omitted from the joint statement for the first time. Connect to Washington.



Correspondent Kim Soo-hyung, How did the contents of the joint statement change in connection with the presence of USFK?



<Reporter>



Defense Minister Seo-

wook

, who visited Washington DC for the first time since his inauguration, held a Korea-US Security Council today (15th) with US Secretary of Defense Esper. 



Even after the inauguration of the Trump administration, the defense ministers of the two countries have each included an agreement in their joint statement to keep the USFK at the current level, but this time it was omitted from the joint statement. 



Instead, there is a rather abstract expression of a commitment to ensure the credibility, ability and continuity of the alliance's deterrent posture. 



<Anchor>



Secretary Esper once again pressed the country to pay more defense expenses, right?



<Reporter>



From the beginning of the meeting between the two ministers, Defense Minister Esper made a decision and raised the issue of the share of defense expenses. 



It shouldn't be unfair to American taxpayers, and Korea should also contribute more.

Let’s listen to it yourself. 



[Sper/U.S. Secretary of Defense: We must find a fairer way to share our common defense costs.

The burden should not be made unfair to U.S. taxpayers.

The United States urges South Korea to further contribute to collective security, along with NATO and other allies.]



It has pressured the need to negotiate a defense share in order to ensure a stable presence of US troops on the Korean Peninsula. 



<Anchor> You said



you made a difference regarding the issue of the conversion and return of the exhibition control right?



<Reporter>



Yes, it is. 



Regarding the wartime operational control, the two ministers made completely different voices in the same place.

Let’s listen to it yourself. 



[Seo Wook/Minister of Defense: We will work together to thoroughly prepare the ROK military-led combined defense system by evaluating the efforts between the ROK and the United States for OPCON conversion and discussing future plans for the transition to OPCON]



[ Esper/U.S. Secretary of Defense: It will take some time to convert wartime opposition to Korean commander.

Doing so will strengthen our alliance.]



Our government has pushed forward in the direction of completing the OPCON transition until 2022, within the term of President Moon Jae-in, and the United States is willing to put more conditions on the OPCON transition.