US Secretary of State and Defense Secretary Visit Korea... Will the ROK-US Alliance Be Upgraded to the Highest Level?

[Image source=Reuters Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy reporters Yang Nak-gyu, military specialist, and Lee Ji-eun] On the 17th, the U.S. Secretary of State and Secretary of Defense will simultaneously visit South Korea for the first time in 11 years to attend the Korea-U.S. Foreign Ministers and Defense Ministers meetings, respectively. This marks the first direct meeting between the heads of diplomacy and security of South Korea and the U.S. since the Biden administration took office. A government official stated, "Through this meeting, close coordination will be achieved on key issues such as the North Korean nuclear issue, the situation on the Korean Peninsula, Korea-U.S.-Japan cooperation, and the transfer of wartime operational control (OPCON)."

Foreign Minister Chung Eui-yong and U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken will hold a bilateral meeting at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs building in Jongno-gu, Seoul, in the afternoon. As this is the first face-to-face foreign ministers' meeting in the Biden era, various issues such as Korea-U.S. relations, the Korean Peninsula situation, and regional and international cooperation are expected to be on the agenda. Attention is also focused on what message Secretary Blinken will send to North Korea, which warned the U.S. the day before by saying, "It would be better not to create sleepless troubles without style from the start."

Defense Minister Suh Wook and U.S. Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin will also hold a meeting at the Ministry of National Defense building in Seoul in the afternoon. Establishing a combined defense posture and the transfer of wartime operational control are expected to be the main agenda items. Additionally, the U.S. side is expected to focus on strengthening Korea-U.S. and Korea-U.S.-Japan security cooperation measures to counter China and North Korea. In this process, the need to enhance Korea-U.S.-Japan joint exercises and Korea-Japan military exchanges may also be mentioned.

[Image source=Yonhap News]

There is unlikely to be any discussion regarding the ‘Quad’ (a consultative group of four countries: the U.S., Japan, India, and Australia), which the U.S. emphasizes as part of its Indo-Pacific strategy. On the 16th, at the National Assembly’s Defense Committee, when independent lawmaker Hong Joon-pyo asked Defense Minister Suh, "What is the Ministry of Defense’s position when the U.S. requests participation in the Quad?" he replied, "There has been no official proposal from the U.S. I don’t think such a proposal will be made."

On the morning of the 18th, a ‘2+2’ meeting involving the foreign and defense ministers of both countries will be held at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs building. On this occasion, Chung Eun-bo, Korea-U.S. Special Representative for Defense Cost-Sharing Negotiations, and Robert Rapson, Charg? d’Affaires of the U.S. Embassy in Korea, will hold a signing ceremony for the recently finalized Special Measures Agreement (SMA) on defense cost-sharing between Korea and the U.S. Both sides will adopt a joint statement reflecting the results of the 2+2 meeting and hold a live-streamed press conference. Secretaries Blinken and Austin will also pay a courtesy call on President Moon Jae-in at the Blue House in the afternoon.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.