MOSCOW, June 8 (RIA Novosti) - South Korea is confident that any military aggression by its northern neighbor will be repelled by joint U.S.-South Korean forces, President Lee Myung-bak said during a meeting on Monday.
The South Korean leader made the comments during a meeting with U.S. military representatives, amid heightened tension between the two Koreas after the Pyongyang carried out a nuclear bomb test on May 25 and launched a series of short-range missiles.
"South Korea and the U.S. have established an alliance through which we can perfectly defend against any North Korean provocation," Lee said at the meeting attended by U.S. Gen. Walter Sharp, commander of the American forces in South Korea, a press release said.
According to Japan's NHK television on Monday, Japanese security forces intercepted North Korean radio signals banning vessels from shipping channels near the eastern port of Wonsan on the Sea of Japan, leading to fears that the reclusive communist state is preparing another missile launch.
The ban is due to come into effect June 10 through June 30.
Japanese Chief Cabinet Secretary Takeo Kawamura said on Monday that the reason for the introduction of the exclusion zone was "unknown," adding that they could not rule out that "North Korea is planning to launch a ballistic missile."
A similar move was announced by North Korea on May 25, when it tested an underground nuclear explosion and launched a series of short-range missiles.
South Korean President Lee is scheduled to meet U.S. President Barack Obama next week in Washington.
U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said on Monday that the Obama administration was considering placing North Korea back on a list of state sponsors of terrorism. The Bush administration had earlier removed North Korea from the list after it began dismantling its nuclear sites.
