Lorenzana, SKorean Defense chief meet, tackle SCS, NKorea

DEFENSE Secretary Delfin Lorenzana met with newly-appointed South Korean Minister of National Defense Lee Jong-sup during his official visit to the Republic of Korea on Friday and discussed bilateral defense cooperation between their countries, including issues in the South China Sea and the Korean Peninsula.

The two officials vowed to uphold freedom of navigation and overflight, as well as respect for international laws.

Lorenzana assured Lee of the Philippines' support for the complete, verifiable and irreversible denuclearization of North Korea.

The two ministers acknowledged that good relations were crucial in building a robust defense industry and smooth logistics cooperation.

Lorenzana noted that the Philippines and South Korea have established defense dialogue platforms encompassing major service-levels.

Lee vowed sustained support for the Armed Forces of the Philippines' capability-upgrade program.

Source: TheManila Times