[Yang Nak-gyu's Defence Club] South Korea-US "Strengthening Defense Posture"... Will THAAD Be Reinforced?

Lloyd Austin, the Secretary of Defense who embarked on his first overseas trip since the inauguration of the Joe Biden administration, arrived on the afternoon of the 17th through Osan Air Base in Gyeonggi Province and is seen moving while conversing with Robert Abrams, Commander of the ROK-US Combined Forces Command and Commander of United States Forces Korea.
Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin will continue a one-night, two-day schedule until the 18th, starting with the ROK-US Defense Ministers' Meeting on the afternoon of the same day, followed by meetings with Secretary of State Tony Blinken.
On the morning of the 17th, at a vaccination center set up in the indoor tennis court in Seobuk-gu, Cheonan-si, Chungnam Province, vaccination candidates are reading the guidance after vaccination in the observation room during a mock drill at the local vaccination center.
Photo by Joint Press Corps

[Asia Economy Yang Nak-gyu, Military Specialist Reporter] The foreign and defense ministers of South Korea and the United States stated that they "reconfirmed their mutual commitment to the defense of South Korea and the strengthening of the ROK-US combined defense posture," sparking speculation that this may imply plans to further reinforce missile defense systems.

The ROK-US foreign and defense ministers, through a joint statement issued after their 2+2 meeting held at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs building in Seoul from around 9:30 a.m. for approximately 90 minutes on the 18th, declared in unison, "We reaffirmed the United States' commitment to the defense of South Korea and extended deterrence using all categories of capabilities."

Recently, General Robert Abrams, Commander of the United States Forces Korea (USFK) and the ROK-US Combined Forces Command, announced plans to 'add' two ballistic missile defense capabilities against North Korea within this year.

Regarding this, the Ministry of National Defense sent a text message to the press stating, "The ROK-US defense authorities have not discussed the deployment of additional missile defense assets on the Korean Peninsula," and "Today, the USFK officially confirmed that the USFK Commander's remarks do not imply the deployment of new equipment or units on the Korean Peninsula."

However, inside and outside the military, there is an assessment that this may be in consideration of upgrading the performance of the Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) system temporarily deployed in Seongju, Gyeongbuk.

If General Abrams' remarks imply a performance upgrade, the launchers at the Seongju base could be relocated to a new base or additional launchers could be brought in to integrate with the battery at Seongju. The United States is currently conducting a performance upgrade project to convert wired connections between batteries and launchers to wireless and to integrate them with existing Patriot systems.

John Hill, Director of the US Missile Defense Agency (Rear Admiral, US Navy), said at the US Department of Defense's FY2021 budget briefing in February last year, "If the THAAD launchers and batteries can be separated, it would provide a lot of flexibility on the Korean Peninsula," adding, "The battery can be placed further back, the radar can be moved back, and the launchers can be placed in front or additional launchers can be brought in."