US defence chief heads to Seoul to save security alliance to counter North Korea and China

US defence chief heads to Seoul to save security alliance to counter North Korea and China

South Korea is digging in its heels as the United States pressures it to renew a military intelligence-sharing pact with Japan, complicating Washington’s bid to retain a three-party alliance it considers vital to counter regional security threats.

US Defence Secretary Mark Esper, who is set to meet his Korean counterpart on Friday, faces an uphill battle to convince President Moon Jae-in to revise his decision to let the 2016 pact known as the General Security of Military Information Agreement…