Published: 12 Mar. 2025, 10:27
White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt looks on as she speaks to members of the media in the briefing room at the White House in Washington, D.C., on March 11. [REUTERS/YONHAP]
White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt looks on as she speaks to members of the media in the briefing room at the White House in Washington, D.C., on March 11. [REUTERS/YONHAP]
The White House said Tuesday the South Korea-U.S. alliance is "ironclad," as tensions flared anew following North Korea's first ballistic missile test this week since the Trump administration took office in January.
Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt made the remarks after Pyongyang fired multiple ballistic missiles into the Yellow Sea on Monday apparently in protest over the start of the annual South Korea-U.S. Freedom Shield (FS) military exercise this week.
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"The U.S.-Republic of Korea alliance is ironclad, and the Trump administration remains in close contact with our South Korean counterparts as we work together to promote a free and open Indo-Pacific," she told a regular press briefing.
She reiterated the United States' condemnation of the North's latest missile launches.
"We condemn these actions, and we call on North Korea to stop their unlawful and destabilizing actions," she added.
Asked to comment on the release of South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol from detention, Leavitt said she does not have anything to mention on the subject.
The North's missile saber-rattling came as the allies kicked off their regular FS exercise on Monday for an 11-day run. The North has long decried the allies' drills as a rehearsal for an invasion against it.
Yonhap