Defense Minister Shin Won-sik on Friday asked a group of U.S. lawmakers for congressional support to strengthen the U.S. deterrence commitment to South Korea, his ministry said, amid efforts to counter North Korean military threats. Shin made the request to the visiting delegation in Seoul as he explained the allies' efforts to establish an enhanced "extended deterrence" system by the first half of this year to seal off the North's nuclear and missile threats. Extended deterrence refers to the U.S. commitment to defending an ally with all of its military capabilities, including nuclear weapons. The lawmakers vowed bipartisan support to further develop the alliance and shared the view on the important role of the U.S. Forces Korea's 28,500 troops for peace and security on the Korean Peninsula and the region, according to the ministry. Shin and the lawmakers also expressed concern over uncertainties in the global security situation and reaffirmed the importance of the bilateral alliance for regional and gl obal peace and stability, it said. North Korea has ratcheted up tensions this year with its weapons development push, staging five rounds of cruise missile tests and test-firing a purported solid-fuel hypersonic intermediate-range ballistic missile in January. The visiting delegation was composed of Sens. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY), Roger Marshall (R-KS), Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH), Mark Kelly (D-AZ), Cynthia Lummis (R-WY), Michael Bennet (D-CO) and Rep. Adriano Espaillat (D-NY). Source: Yonhap News Agency
