US Defense Secretary Austin “The extended deterrence pledge is firm and iron-clad”… “The Korean Peninsula must maintain denuclearization”

With North Korea’s nuclear and missile threats rising and the theory of nuclear weapons being raised in some parts of Korea, the defense ministers of the ROK and the United States met in Seoul and decided to continue strengthening the operation of extended deterrence. It was decided to expand and strengthen the scale and level of exercises and joint exercises to realize peace through strength.

Defense Minister Lee Jong-seop and US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin held talks at the Ministry of National Defense on the afternoon of the 31st and reached an agreement.

In a press conference following the meeting, the two ministers strongly condemned North Korea’s series of provocations, including recent missile launches and drone infiltration, and reaffirmed their firm response.

The two ministers agreed to make significant progress so that the review of the Korea-US Tailored Deterrence Strategy (TDS) can be completed before this year’s ROK-US Security Consultative Meeting (SCM) in order to strengthen the operational power of extended deterrence against the North. Korean nuclear weapons. In addition, it was decided to hold the Extended Deterrence TTX (DSC TTX) exercise in February to promote discussions among allies regarding deterrence and countermeasures against the North Korean nuclear threat. In addition, they promised to consult closely to ensure that strategic assets are deployed in a timely and coordinated manner.

In the area of ​​extended joint deterrence, it was decided to reflect changes in the security environment, including North Korea’s recent nuclear and missile development efforts, while strengthening joint exercises and training between the two countries, including the joint exercises scheduled for the first half of the year. In addition, it was decided to expand the scale and scope of joint outdoor maneuver exercises this year, and to hold a large-scale joint combined firepower demonstration.

The meeting focused on reaffirming the United States’ extended deterrence commitment to South Korea. In a joint press conference held after the meeting, Secretary Austin declared, “The defense commitment of the United States is ironclad and its extended deterrence commitment is firm.” “The US extended deterrence commitment includes all categories of US military capabilities, including nuclear, conventional (weapons), and missile defense capabilities,” he said. US extended deterrence is the concept that when an alliance faces a nuclear attack or threat, it considers it an attack on the US mainland and deters it with conventional forces, nuclear weapons, and missile defense.

Secretary Austin’s emphasis on a firm extended deterrence pledge appears to be aimed at assuaging public opinion on South Korea’s recently raised independent nuclear weapons and addressing concerns about the extended deterrence pledge raised by some, such as the ‘torn nuclear umbrella’ metaphor. In a press conference, he said, “South Korea and the United States have the idea that the Korean Peninsula must carry out denuclearization.”

North Korea is expected to strongly oppose the move between South Korea and the United States. North Korea, which defines the ROK-US joint training as a “war exercise,” responded with proportionate and direct provocations last year in line with the joint training period or the use of US strategic assets on the Korean Peninsula.

Secretary Austin also emphasized trilateral security cooperation among South Korea, the United States and Japan. In a press conference, he said, “We (South Korea and the United States) and the three countries (Korea, the United States, and Japan) worked closely together against the threat from North Korea,” and the “trilateral cooperation among South Korea, the United States, and Japan promoting security for all. ” The two countries agreed to hold a Korea-US-Japan Security Talk (DTT) in the near future to strengthen trilateral security cooperation between South Korea, the United States and Japan.

The issue of cooperation between the two countries to include China was also mentioned. The two Ministers agreed to strengthen the link between the Indo-Pacific strategies of the two countries based on a common understanding of a ‘free and open Indo-Pacific (Indo-Pacific)’ and look for ways to cooperate with their island friends Southeast Asia and the Pacific. . Minister Austin said, “I am confident that the two countries will continue to work together for the stability and security of the Korean Peninsula and the shared vision of an open and free Indo-Pacific for the next 70 years. “

A ‘free and open Indo-Pacific’ is an expression the US often uses to include China. The United States is building a united front with Southeast Asian countries to include China, and it can be read as emphasizing the expansion of South Korea’s role in this process.

Secretary Austin, who described the visit to Korea as “very productive,” left the country on the afternoon of the 31st after the meeting with the defense ministers and headed for the Philippines, his next destination.