The Associated Press reports that “the U.S. is sending 800 additional troops to South Korea with upgraded equipment, the Pentagon said, citing the Obama administration’s rebalance of forces to the Asia-Pacific region.”

“’There is no greater sign of the United States commitment to regional security than the 28,500 troops stationed in South Korea,’ Secretary of State John Kerry said today in Washington in an appearance with South Korean Foreign Minister Yun Byung-se. ‘It’s clear the foundations of this relationship are built to endure.'”

“The small addition to those forces already stationed in South Korea ‘was long-planned and part of our enduring commitment to security on the Korean peninsula,’ Army Colonel Steve Warren, a Defense Department spokesman, told reporters at the Pentagon today. ‘This gives commanders in Korea an additional capability.’”