Results of the Korea-US Summit... Will North Korea and China Oppose?

[Asia Economy Yang Nak-gyu, Military Specialist Reporter] North Korea and China are expected to strongly oppose following the South Korea-US summit. As the US has agreed to supply COVID-19 vaccines to 550,000 South Korean troops, normal South Korea-US joint military exercises are expected to resume in the second half of the year, which is likely to provoke North Korea's backlash. Additionally, with the termination of the South Korea-US missile guidelines, the range of South Korean missiles will increase, which is also expected to elicit a response from China.

On the 21st (local time), US President Joe Biden stated at a joint press conference held at the White House after the summit with South Korean President Moon Jae-in, "The South Korean and US militaries frequently communicate," and added, "We plan to provide COVID-19 vaccines to 550,000 South Korean troops."

If vaccine support is provided to the South Korean military first, the South Korea-US joint exercises scheduled for around August are expected to proceed normally. Due to COVID-19, joint exercises have been scaled down since last year. If normal joint exercises are conducted around August and the FOC (Full Operational Capability) verification is completed, the transfer of wartime operational control is expected to accelerate.

North Korea expressed opposition to the South Korea-US joint command post exercise in March and stated that future cooperation and exchanges with South Korea are unnecessary. Kim Yo-jong, Deputy Director of the Workers' Party of North Korea, conveyed this stance in a statement titled "The spring days from three years ago will hardly return" published in the party newspaper Rodong Sinmun, saying, "We heard that the South Korean authorities have embarked on the path of conducting aggressive war exercises targeting our republic starting from the 8th."

China is expected to respond sensitively to the termination of the missile guidelines. Some analysts interpret the end of the missile guidelines as reflecting the US intention to check China's military expansion in the Asia-Pacific region.

Even an 800km ballistic missile launched from Jeju Island can reach Sinuiju, and firing from south of Pohang can cover the farthest eastern part of North Korea, the Tumen River. Depending on the launch point, parts of China and Russia are also within range. With the removal of range restrictions, it will be possible to develop ground-to-ground ballistic missiles with ranges of 1000 to 2000 km or more, which could provoke opposition from neighboring countries such as China and Russia.

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