Korean Military Delegation's First Visit to U.S. Nuclear Submarine Base

Operation Exercise of Extended Deterrence Measures Conducted... Warning to the North

[Asia Economy Yang Nak-gyu, Military Specialist Reporter] South Korea and the United States will conduct exercises to implement extended deterrence in the U.S. in response to North Korea's ballistic missile threats.

According to the Ministry of National Defense, on the 22nd (local time), South Korea and the U.S. will conduct the 8th Extended Deterrence Means Operation Exercise (DSC TTX) at the U.S. Department of Defense building (Pentagon) in Washington DC. South Korea will be represented by Heo Tae-geun, Director of Defense Policy, and the U.S. side will include Siddharth Mohandas, Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for East Asia, and Richard Johnson, Deputy Assistant Secretary for Nuclear and WMD (Weapons of Mass Destruction) Response.

US Nuclear-Powered Submarine USS Michigan (SSGN-727)

On the 23rd, the South Korea-U.S. delegation will visit the U.S. Navy nuclear-powered submarine base in Kings Bay, Georgia. The Kings Bay naval base is the home port for submarines equipped with submarine-launched ballistic missiles (SLBM), one of the three pillars of the U.S. nuclear triad. This visit is expected to reaffirm the U.S.'s commitment to extended deterrence against North Korea's nuclear and missile threats and demonstrate the combined defense posture of the South Korea-U.S. alliance. This is the first time the South Korean delegation has visited a U.S. nuclear submarine base, which is interpreted as a warning message regarding North Korea's nuclear and missile threats.

South Korean and U.S. authorities are expected to link the outcomes of the DSC TTX discussions with the Kings Bay base visit to issue a warning message to North Korea. The DSC TTX is a discussion-based exercise jointly hosted by the South Korean and U.S. Ministries of Defense to develop response concepts and procedures in case of a North Korean nuclear crisis on the Korean Peninsula. Based on the tailored deterrence strategy (TDS) between South Korea and the U.S., military and diplomatic officials discuss and review response plans according to nuclear crisis stages. This time, the exercise assumes a North Korean nuclear attack scenario to devise countermeasures.

Additionally, South Korean and U.S. troops will participate in the multinational combined exercise "Cobra Gold," held in Thailand from the 28th of this month to the 10th of next month.

In particular, a large-scale combined field maneuver is scheduled for mid-next month. During the exercise period, South Korean and U.S. military authorities plan to expand the scale and scope of combined field maneuvers and intensively conduct division-level Ssangryong combined amphibious landing exercises and other combined field maneuvers at the level of the past "Foal Eagle" exercises. Considering the inter-Korean reconciliation atmosphere, the Foal Eagle exercises, which were suspended during the Moon Jae-in administration, are effectively being revived after five years.

North Korea recently resumed ballistic missile provocations with the high-angle launch of one Hwasong-15 intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) on the 18th and the launch of two 600mm-class super-large multiple rocket launchers (SRBM) on the 20th.

In a statement on the 19th, Kim Yo-jong, Deputy Director of the Workers' Party, declared, "We will closely monitor every hostile action of the enemy and respond correspondingly to all hostile acts against us with very strong and overwhelming measures." There is also speculation that North Korea may carry out additional provocations under the pretext of the DSC TTX, which is a North Korean nuclear response exercise.