Conducted Exercises Including Extended Deterrence Operation Inspection
[Asia Economy Yang Nak-gyu, Military Specialist Reporter] U.S. Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin will visit South Korea on the 30th. The last time a U.S. Secretary of Defense visited South Korea alone was in December 2021.
On the 27th, a Ministry of Defense official stated, "Secretary Austin is scheduled to hold a defense ministerial meeting with Minister of National Defense Lee Jong-seop on the afternoon of the 31st during his visit." Earlier, the Ministry of National Defense announced in its New Year's work report that three Korea-U.S. defense ministerial meetings would be held this year.
This visit is known to be for assessing the preparation status of the upcoming ‘Extended Deterrence Means Exercise (DSC TTX)’ scheduled for next month. In particular, since this exercise will be conducted for the first time assuming North Korea's ‘nuclear preemptive use’ scenario, discussions on the training plans, methods, and locations between the two countries are expected.
As Secretary Austin reviews the joint training situation, there is also a possibility that he will deliver a strong warning message to North Korea.
There are also claims that he may seek to strengthen Korea-U.S.-Japan security cooperation and request military cooperation with Japan. Since U.S. President Joe Biden and Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida mentioned ▲the complete denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula ▲strengthening Korea-U.S.-Japan cooperation during their summit, it is analyzed that these topics may be discussed during Secretary Austin's visit to Korea.
Following this, Secretary Austin is expected to pay a courtesy call on President Yoon Suk-yeol.
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