US, South Korea Revise Deterrence Plans Against North Korea For 1st Time in 10 Years - Pentagon

US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin and his South Korean counterpart, Shin Won-sik, have approved a revised version of the joint deterrence strategy against North Korea, its first update in ten years, the US Department of Defense said on Monday.

Earlier in the day, the two senior military officials held the 55th security consultative meeting in the South Korean capital of Seoul, during which they reaffirmed the importance of the US- South Korea alliance for peace, stability and prosperity on the Korean peninsula. 

The Republic of Korea will "unite" the Korean Peninsula "on the basis of liberal democratic" values, if the DPRK provokes a war with Seoul, South Korea’s Defense Minister Shin Won-sik told a news press conference following talks with his US counterpart Lloyd Austin in Seoul.

"If North Korea provokes a war, their regime will disappear and there will follow unification based on a liberal-democratic order under the Republic of Korea," Shin said. He argues that Pyongyang's use of nuclear weapons would lead to the "end of the regime" in the DPRK. The South Korean and US armed forces maintain full combat readiness, he added.