[Yang Nak-gyu's Defence Club] First ROK-US Defense Ministers' Call Without Mention of North Korean Nuclear Issue

Minister of National Defense Seo Wook is attending the Cabinet meeting held at the Government Seoul Office in Jongno-gu, Seoul, on the morning of the 29th. Photo by Kang Jin-hyung aymsdream@

[Asia Economy Yang Nak-gyu, Military Specialist Reporter] The South Korean and U.S. defense ministers refrained from mentioning North Korea's nuclear issue during their first phone call, raising concerns about "tiptoeing around North Korea" and fears that the joint South Korea-U.S. military exercises scheduled for March might be scaled down or postponed. This contrasts with the same-day phone call between the U.S. and Japanese defense ministers, who directly discussed North Korea's denuclearization policy.

According to the Ministry of National Defense on the 25th, Minister of National Defense Seo Wook held a phone call the previous day with Lloyd Austin, the first defense chief of the Biden administration, reaffirming the firm South Korea-U.S. alliance and the close cooperation system between the two countries' defense authorities.

The Ministry of National Defense explained that the call was made "at the request of the U.S. side, considering the importance of the South Korea-U.S. alliance." The call took place about a day after Austin's confirmation was approved on the 22nd (local time). Minister Austin described the South Korea-U.S. alliance as "the linchpin and the most exemplary alliance for peace and stability in Northeast Asia" and said, "We will closely cooperate to further strengthen and develop the alliance relationship."

On the same day, the U.S.-Japan defense ministers confirmed the policy of "complete, verifiable, and irreversible denuclearization" (CVID) during their first phone meeting, Kyodo News reported. According to the report, they agreed to cooperate in preventing ship-to-ship transfers of cargo at sea by North Korean vessels to cut off funding sources for North Korea's nuclear and missile development.

Since South Korea and the U.S. only expressed a principled stance on strengthening the alliance during their first meeting, concerns are growing that disagreements over the joint exercises scheduled for the first half of this year may continue. The South Korea-U.S. joint exercises are scheduled for 16 days in the second week of March and 18 days in mid-August, with final adjustments underway. The exercises are divided into two parts: the first part focuses on checking the combat readiness posture of the combined forces, while the second part, which has traditionally been counterattack-oriented, is reportedly being allocated mostly to "simulation and debriefing."

The Ministry of National Defense's position is that since normal training was not possible last year due to the novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19), this year’s joint exercises must complete the FOC (Full Operational Capability) verification evaluation for the transfer of wartime operational control and agree on the timing of the transfer.

Whether the U.S. military will agree remains uncertain. Considering the security situation on the Korean Peninsula, including North Korea’s declared enhancement of nuclear capabilities, the U.S. is likely to propose focusing on reviewing the joint defense posture against North Korea rather than verifying the transfer of wartime operational control. Especially since reinforcements from the U.S. mainland, the U.S. Indo-Pacific Command, and U.S. forces stationed in Japan have been unable to enter South Korea due to COVID-19, the joint exercise schedule may be postponed or scaled down again. Moreover, at the 52nd Security Consultative Meeting (SCM) held in Washington last October, the U.S. reportedly expressed the view that conducting the FOC verification would be difficult this year as well, considering the impact of COVID-19 and the readiness of the South Korean military.