As the two Koreas are having high-level talks to defuse the military tension in the border areas, Washington has reiterated that its commitment to defending South Korea remains firm. 
 
Gabrielle Price, spokeswoman for the U.S. State Department’s Bureau of East Asian and Pacific Affairs, said in a statement Sunday that the U.S. is closely monitoring the situation on the Korean Peninsula.
 
Price also emphasized that the U.S. will continue to coordinate closely with the South on the matter.
 
U.S. President Barack Obama was reported to have been briefed on the situation on the Korean Peninsula during his vacation in the U.S. East Coast region.