Military officials say the United States and South Korea have signed an agreement giving American troops an expanded role in protecting the South from North Korean provocation.
The pact was signed Friday by South Korea's Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman General Jung Seun-jo and the commander of U.S. forces in South Korea, General James Thurman.
Under the Combined Counter-Provocation Plan, U.S. forces will be able to aid South Korean troops in retaliating to any military aggression from North Korea.
Previously, South Korean forces were in charge of any military action against the North and U.S. troops would engage only if a full-scale war broke out.