US, SKorea to bolster alliance at talks but questions remain

By HYUNG-JIN KIM
Associated Press

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin has arrived in South Korea for annual security talks expected to bolster the countries’ decades-long military alliance in the face of North Korean nuclear threats and mounting challenges from China. Austin tweeted after landing that “The U.S.-South Korea alliance “is the linchpin of peace and security in this region.” But how substantially the alliance, sealed in the bloodshed of the 1950-53 Korean War, can be solidified is in doubt as South Korea remains locked in thorny historical disputes with Japan — another key American regional ally — and hesitates to actively join U.S.-led efforts to curb China’s rising strength.