WASHINGTON -- US Forces Korea (USFK) Commander Gen. Paul LaCamera stressed the importance of strengthening the US-South Korea alliance Thursday, one day after the countries marked the 69th anniversary of the signing of the armistice that halted the 1950-53 Korean War.

The four-star US general insisted the alliance provides the "strategic depth" and "legitimacy" to deal with any global challenges, including North Korea.

"I see an opportunity for the alliance to extend its reach and become a global comprehensive strategic alliance, beyond the Korean Peninsula," LaCamera said in a dinner event in Washington, jointly hosted by the Korea Defense Veterans Association and the Korea-US Alliance Foundation, to mark the anniversary.

"However, let us not forget that the Korean War has not ended," he added. "While the peninsula is still on an armistice, the DPRK continues to develop capabilities that threaten not only South Korea, but regional allies and partners and the United States."

DPRK stands for the Democratic People's Republic of Korea, North Korea's official name.

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un said earlier this week that the Seoul government and its military will face "annihilation" if they make any "dangerous attempt."

LaCamera said a future conflict on the Korean Peninsula would impact the entire globe.

"If the conflict were to resume, its impact will reverberate throughout the world. That is because a conflict on the peninsula will not be isolated. It will be a global challenge," said LaCamera, who also heads the United Nations Command in Korea and the US-South Korea Combined Forces Command.

He said his best "military advice" for the allies is to further strengthen their alliance.

"The alliance embraces coalitions. Coalition of forces gives us strategic depth and embodies international legitimacy that is based on international rules and arrangements," LaCamera said.

He also underscored a need to expand the bilateral alliance into a "multinational" and "multidimensional coalition."

"This will enable us to better deter DPRK and maintain a rules-based international order with an eye on China and Russia," the USFK commander said.

Among the participants in the event was South Korean Defense Minister Lee Jong-sup, who was in Washington for a weeklong trip designed to cement the alliance on the occasion of the armistice anniversary.

In his speech, Lee underscored the "deep comradery" between South Korean and American troops as the "root" of the bilateral alliance.

"Just as a tree needs a solid root in order to grow taller, in order for the ROK-US Alliance to develop, the foundation must be robust," he said, referring to South Korea by its official name, the Republic of Korea.

"And that root of the ROK-US Alliance is the deep comradery between the ROK-US service members, who fought together and shared their blood and sweat in battlefields," he added.

Lee also said the alliance will evolve into a "global comprehensive strategic alliance" that goes beyond the traditional security alliance and extends "to the fields of economy and technology."

On Thursday, Lee also hosted a separate meeting with LaCamera and former USFK commanders to discuss the alliance and other issues.

During the meeting, former USFK commanders called for even closer cooperation between Seoul and Washington in the face of various security challenges, including the North's nuclear and missile threats.

Lee said in turn that the allies are pushing for various measures to reinforce their combined defense posture. (Yonhap)