U.S. Under Secretary of Defense for Policy Elbridge Colby has praised South Korea for taking a lead in defending against North Korea as well as its military spending and readiness while stressing the need to modernize the alliance amid regional security challenges.

“South Korea continues to be a role model in its willingness to take more of the lead in a strong defense against the DPRK and in its spending on defense,” Colby wrote on social media. 

In another messageposted the same day, he emphasized that both nations share a common understanding of the need to modernize the