US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin arrived at Osan Air Base on the afternoon of the 30th to complete his visit to Korea.
In a regular briefing today, Lee Seong-joon, head of the Public Affairs Office of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, answered a question about North Korean military trends ahead of US Secretary of Defense Austin's visit to Korea, saying, "There are no unusual military trends in North Korea so far."
Defense Minister Lee Jong-seop is expected to meet with Secretary Austin tomorrow to discuss the ROK-US extended deterrence exercise to be held in the US next month.
The day before, North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg visited Korea, and today he will meet with Defense Minister Lee Jong-seop.
North Korean state media criticized Stoltenberg's visit to South Korea as "an act of confrontation and a prelude to war that drives the cloud of a 'new cold war' in the Asia-Pacific (hereafter Asia-Pacific) region."
(Photo = Provided by the Ministry of National Defense, Yonhap News)