South Korea and the U.S. Further Discuss Expanded Deterrence Implementation Measures

Antony Carlo, Chief of Strategic Planning Staff of U.S. Army, Visits Korea

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Yang Nak-gyu, Military Specialist Reporter] South Korea and the United States have further discussed measures to strengthen extended deterrence.

On the 5th, the Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) announced that they met with Major General Anthony Carlo, Chief of Planning Staff at the U.S. Strategic Command, and Major General Robert Sopji, Chief of Planning Staff at the U.S. Forces Korea, to discuss the implementation measures for strengthening extended deterrence agreed upon by both countries at the 54th Security Consultative Meeting (SCM) and the 47th Military Committee Meeting (MCM) held last month. On the Korean side, Kim Soo-kwang, Director of the JCS Nuclear and WMD Response Center, attended.

The JCS and U.S. Strategic Command agreed on that day to continue strategic-level cooperation to enhance the execution capability of extended deterrence, as agreed upon by the defense ministers of both countries at the SCM.

Major General Carlo visited Korea for a working-level consultation to strengthen strategic cooperation between the JCS and U.S. Strategic Command, which was proposed by JCS Chairman Kim Seung-gyeom during his visit to the U.S. Strategic Command last October. Carlo reaffirmed the U.S. commitment to continuously provide extended deterrence to Korea and emphasized that the visit to the JCS clearly demonstrates the U.S.'s determination to fulfill its extended deterrence pledge.

During the meeting, both sides shared concerns over the severe security situation on the Korean Peninsula, including North Korea’s nuclear weapons policy legalization, preparations for nuclear tests, and multiple ballistic missile launches including intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBMs), agreeing that closer ROK-U.S. cooperation is more important than ever.

Meanwhile, President Yoon Suk-yeol instructed on the 18th of last month, immediately after North Korea launched an intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM), to "strengthen the ROK-U.S. combined defense posture, actively implement the agreed measures to enhance the execution capability of extended deterrence against North Korea, and reinforce ROK-U.S.-Japan security cooperation." The government also warned in a statement that "we possess overwhelming response capabilities and will to immediately retaliate against provocations, and North Korea must not misjudge this."