[THE INVESTOR] President Moon Jae-in and his US counterpart Donald Trump agreed on Sept. 22 to expand the deployment of US strategic assets to South Korea and surrounding areas.

During their summit on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly in New York, they underscored the need to maintain overwhelming deterrence against North Korea, Cheong Wa Dae spokesman Park Soo-hyun said at a press briefing.

To this end, they agreed to strengthen their countries’ joint defense capabilities, partly through Seoul’s acquisition and development of “the most advanced military assets,” Park said.

During their second bilateral summit, the two leaders strongly condemned North Korea‘s latest nuclear provocation as a serious and escalating threat.

“The two leaders shared a view on the need for the strongest pressure and sanctions against North Korea to deter North Korea’s provocative activities and make it start taking steps toward denuclearization,” he said.

By Alex Lee and newswires (alexlee@heraldcorp.com)