South Korea and the U.S. update their North Korean nuclear response plan… Next year’s OPCON FOC evaluation agreement (comprehensive 3 reports)

Defense Ministers of the Republic of Korea and the U.S. Announce SCM Joint Statement… Relocation of the Combined Forces Command headquarters to Pyeongtaek by next year

Restoration of the phrase ‘Maintain US Forces Korea’s current forces’… “Important for stability in the Taiwan Strait” for the first time

(Seoul = Yonhap News) Reporter Kim Yong-rae and Jeong Bit-na = South Korean and American military authorities agreed on the 2nd to update the existing operational plan in response to North Korea’s advanced nuclear and missile threats.

A plan will be established reflecting strong measures to counter North Korea’s nuclear and missile capabilities, which have developed nuclear-capable intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBMs), submarine-launched ballistic missiles (SLBMs), hypersonic missiles, and various short-range tactical ballistic missiles. am.

Defense Minister Seo Wook and US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin made this statement in a joint statement and joint press conference after the 53rd Korea-US Security Council (SCM) was held at the Ministry of National Defense in Yongsan-gu, Seoul on the same day. (SPG) has been approved.”

SPG is a kind of comprehensive guideline for planning. After the ministers of both countries agree on the SPG, based on the agreement, the Joint Chiefs of Staff will start working on a full-fledged plan revision.

Currently, the CFC is preparing for ‘Action 5015’, which was signed by the Chairman of the ROK-US Joint Chiefs of Staff in 2015, based on the SPG that was last modified in 2010. It is a newly written alternative version of the previously created Operation 5027.

This time, as the two ministers agree on a new SPG for the first time in 11 years, it is expected that a major revision of Plan 5015 will be made.

However, an official from the Ministry of National Defense said that it has not been decided whether to establish a completely new plan to replace Plan 5015 or whether it will be implemented in a way that complements the existing 5015.

The official said, “(The update of the work system) was first proposed by the US side.

As South Korea and the United States are discussing a declaration of an end to the war, North Korea’s backlash is also expected as a result of the announcement of an update plan.

However, when asked about the impact of the operation update measures on the government-level declaration of an end to the war, Minister Seo replied, “I do not think there is any special relationship with the SPG for this operation plan because the declaration of an end to the war has a political and declarative meaning.” drew

In addition, the SCM joint statement set a deadline for the transfer of wartime operational control (OPC), saying, “We have decided to conduct a FOC evaluation in 2022.”

In this regard, Secretary Austin specifically said in an interview that “there has been an agreement to evaluate the future CFC’s FOC during the combined command post training (CCPT) training in the second half of next year.”

However, it is reported that after the SCM ended, Minister Austin decided to positively review the plan to be implemented during the training in the first half of the meeting during the meeting with President Moon Jae-in.

The Blue House also said in a written briefing, “We exchanged opinions on the possibility of an early implementation of the FOC evaluation.”

Although the Moon Jae-in administration’s promise of OPCON transition is eventually passed on to the next government, it is expected that the FOC evaluation, which is a core evaluation, will be implemented next year, which will provide a driving force for accelerating the OPCON transition.

In this year’s SCM joint statement, ‘Taiwan’ was specified for the first time.

“The two Ministers confirmed the importance of maintaining peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait as reflected in the joint statement of the summit between President Biden and President Moon in May 2021,” the joint statement said.

It is highly likely that China will be sensitive to the fact that the Taiwan issue is included in the SCM joint statement, which is symbolic of Korea-US military cooperation and is a diplomatic document.

However, a Ministry of National Defense official said, “The phrase is a re-quoting of the text included in the joint statement of the Korea-US summit held in May this year.” It’s not about having ,” he added.

It is explained that the Taiwan issue was not mentioned at all during the SCM meeting.

At this SCM, the two Ministers agreed to cooperate closely to complete the relocation of the ROK-U.S. Combined Forces Command headquarters to Pyeongtaek by next year.

An official from the Ministry of National Defense said that the full-scale relocation is scheduled to begin around July next year, when the construction for the relocation of the headquarters is completed. It is reported that the military authorities of the two countries are also considering a plan to conduct joint command post training at the Pyeongtaek Combined Forces Command in the second half of next year.

In particular, it is observed that the relocation of the CFC headquarters, which has been considered the key to returning the Yongsan base, will accelerate the return of the entire Yongsan base that the government has been pursuing.

The phrase “Maintaining the U.S. Forces Korea’s current forces”, which was controversial because of last year’s joint statement, was also restored in this joint statement.

An official from the Ministry of National Defense said, “Last year, we asked the US to include the phrase to maintain the current military posture of the USFK, but they did not accept it.”

It is reported that the high-level SCM talks and extended talks held for the first time under the Biden administration were held in a generally friendly atmosphere compared to last year.

In fact, the two ministers drew attention by wearing the same tie and taking a commemorative photo during the expanded meeting on the same day. A military official said that Austin changed the tie that Minister Seo gave to him right after the high-level meeting.

shine@yna.co.kr

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2021/12/02 19:23 Send