Trump pledges commitment to defend South Korea: news agencyNovember 10, 2016 - 10:40 AMT PanARMENIAN.Net - U.S. President-elect Donald Trump pledged his commitment to defend South Korea under an existing security alliance during a phone call with South Korean President Park Geun-hye on Thursday, November 10, Reuters said citing Yonhap news agency. Trump had said during the election campaign he would be willing to withdraw U.S. military stationed in South Korea unless Seoul paid a greater share of the cost of the deployment. There are about 28,500 U.S. troops based in South Korea in combined defense against North Korea. Park's office said she spoke by phone with Trump at around 0100 GMT but could not immediately confirm what was discussed. During the call which lasted just over 10 minutes, Trump said the United States would maintain a strong defense posture to protect South Korea, Yonhap cited unnamed diplomatic sources as saying. Park congratulated Trump on his election and said the alliance between the two countries has grown and mutual trust deepened as they faced various challenges over the past six decades, adding she hoped the ties would develop further. There was concern in South Korea that a Trump presidency would demand that Seoul sharply raise its share of the cost of maintaining the U.S. military presence in the country. Top stories Authorities said a total of 192 Azerbaijani troops were killed and 511 were wounded during Azerbaijan’s offensive. In 2023, the Azerbaijani government will increase the country’s defense budget by more than 1.1 billion manats ($650 million). The bill, published on Monday, is designed to "eliminate the shortcomings of an unreasonably broad interpretation of the key concept of "compatriot". The earthquake caused a temporary blackout, damaged many buildings and closed a number of rural roads. Partner news | Cyprus parliament honors Armenian genocide victims Acting House President Zacharias Koulias noted that April 24 marks the “black anniversary” of the Armenian genocide. Armenia PM, France envoy discuss regional matters Issues related to the consistent development of Armenia-France cooperation were discussed. Azerbaijan razes historic Armenian church to ground Azerbaijan has demolished the historic Armenian Church of St. John the Baptist (known as Kanach Zham). Russia to begin assessing migrant workers' speaking skills Rosobrnadzor is planning to change the Russian language exam for migrant workers and include an assessment of speaking skills |