“The two leaders additionally reviewed the progress made in relocating the ROK [Republic of Korea]-US Combined Forces Command (CFC) headquarters and committed to expeditiously pursue the CFC HQ relocation,” the joint statement said on Friday.
South Korea and the United States agreed on 3 June to move the headquarters of Combined Forces Command out of the greater Seoul metropolitan area as part of the process to create a new joint command system led by a South Korean four-star general, Defense News previously reported.
The two sides held what the statement described as "a robust exchange" in an alliance teleconference with South Korean Deputy Minister Chung Sukhwan and US official David Helvey performing the duties of Assistant Secretary of Defense, the statement said.
"The leaders underscored the importance of strengthening the combined readiness posture of the ROK-US Alliance to address the current security environment on the Korean Peninsula as well as mutual regional security concerns,” the statement said.
The two sides also agreed to strengthen the combat readiness of their joint forces deployed on the Korean Peninsula, the statement added.