S Korean, U.S. defense ministers kick off annual security talks

SEOUL, Oct. 22 (Xinhua) -- South Korean Defense Minister Kim Tae-young and his U.S. counterpart Robert Gates on Thursday kicked off here the annual security talks between the two nations.

The 41st Security Consultative Meeting (SCM), expected to last for two hours, was also attended by the highest-ranking commanders of both countries.

The meeting is expected to focus on the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK)'s recent military moves, as well Seoul's contributions to the U.S.-led operations in Afghanistan and issues related to the transfer of wartime operational control of South Korea's troops from Washington to Seoul by 2012.

Gates said on Wednesday while speaking to about 150 U.S. and South Korean soldiers at the Yongsan Garrison in Seoul, "we do not today, nor will we ever, accept a North Korea (DPRK) with nuclear weapons."

He said his country will make efforts to achieve the complete and verifiable denuclearization of the DPRK.

He also reiterated the U.S. commitment to mobilizing the "full range of American military might" to provide extended deterrence to South Korea, including the nuclear umbrella, conventional strike and missile defense capabilities, and the continued U.S. military presence in South Korea.

Gates also urged South Korea's political leaders to invest more in defense at a level "appropriate to" the nation's "emerging role as a contributor to global security and commensurate with the threat" it faces on the Korean Peninsula, adding that its international military contributions would benefit its own security and vital interests.

Local media said the U.S. official's remark is to encourage South Korea to dispatch troops to participate in U.S.-led operations in Afghanistan.

The SCM is preceded by the Military Committee Meeting (MCM) on Wednesday between the two countries' highest commanders in Seoul.

During the meeting, the two sides shared the latest assessment of the DPRK's military activities and discussed practical measures to strengthen their alliance to deal with the DPRK's threat.

The United States stations 28,500 troops in South Korea as a deterrent against the DPRK.