US, South Korea sharpen deterrence plans over North Korean nuclear threat

The US and South Korea on Monday updated a bilateral security agreement with the aim of more effectively countering North Korea's evolving nuclear and missile threats. The move followed high-level military talks in Seoul, where the allies also discussed enhancing three-way defense exercises with Japan and improving information-sharing on North Korean missile launches. Tensions between the Koreas are at their highest point in years as the pace of both North Korea's weapons tests and South Korea's combined military exercises with the United States have intensified in a cycle of tit-for-tat.