A new South Korea-US pact providing for a joint military response even

A new South Korea-US pact providing for a joint military response even to low-level provocation by North Korea offers an added deterrent at a time of elevated tension, the South said Monday.

The two allies signed the military agreement on Friday in a move likely to fuel fresh outrage in Pyongyang, which has spent the past few weeks denouncing joint South Korea-US military exercises.

While existing agreements provide for US engagement in the event of a full-scale conflict, the new protocol addresses the response to low-level action such as a limited cross-border incursion.

It guarantees US support for any South Korean retaliation and allows Seoul to request any additional US military force it deems necessary.

The United States has close to 30,000 troops stationed in South Korea with the option to bring in reinforcements from its military bases in Japan.

The “provocative” scenarios envisaged by the new pact include maritime border incursions, shelling of border islands, and infiltration by low-flying fighter jets or special forces.

The chairman of the South’s Joint Chiefs of Staff, General Jung Seung-Jo, said the accord would allow for “strong retaliation” that would make North Korea “bitterly regret” any provocative move.

hmm well this sounds wildly exciting!