Lee says Korea ready to meet challenge

SEOUL, June 8 (UPI) -- South Korean President Lee Myung-bak said Monday his country with U.S. support can defeat any North Korean provocation.

A presidential office statement said Lee gave the assurance at his meeting with a group of U.S. generals serving in South Korea, Yonhap news agency reported.

The meeting was held as North Korean provocations continue, starting with its underground nuclear test last month and a number of subsequent short-range missile firings.

The North also has withdrawn from a truce that ended the 1950-53 Korean War and warned U.S. and South Korean vessels about navigating near its western sea border.

"South Korea and the U.S. have established an alliance through which we can perfectly defend against any North Korean provocation," Lee told the group, which included U.S. Gen. Walter Sharp, commander of American forces in South Korea.

The Yonhap report said the meeting was the first such since 2003, and came ahead of a scheduled summit meeting of Lee with U.S. President Barack Obama in Washington.

There are about 28,500 U.S. forces currently based in South Korea.