US Rep. Mac Thornberry, who chairs the House Armed Services Committee, assured South Korea Monday of bipartisan support for the alliance, Seoul's foreign ministry said.

The Republican congressman from Texas also pledged every effort to denuclearize the peninsula and establish lasting peace.

He delivered the message to Foreign Minister Kang Kyung-wha in their meeting here.

Kang took note of a sea change in the regional security conditions over the past year and briefed him on close cooperation between Seoul and Washington.

The congressman agreed that brisk diplomacy on Pyongyang was based on the international community's united response, including the robust alliance, according to the ministry.

During his second trip to Seoul this year following a May trip, he's also scheduled to visit a US Forces Korea base in Korea. (Yonhap)