[Yang Nak-gyu's Defence Club] Two Reasons Why South Korea and the U.S. Are Creating a New Operational Plan

[Asia Economy Yang Nak-gyu, Military Specialist Reporter] The new combined operational plan (OPLAN) that South Korea and the United States are set to create is known to assume North Korea's possession of nuclear weapons.

On the 31st Korean time, Won In-chul, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) of South Korea, held a bilateral meeting with Mark Milley, Chairman of the U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staff, at the U.S. Indo-Pacific Command in Camp Smith, Hawaii, and signed the Strategic Planning Directive (SPD) developed according to the new Strategic Planning Guidance (SPG). For South Korea and the U.S. to create a new OPLAN, they must agree on the SPD.

The OPLAN is an operation established by the U.S. Indo-Pacific Command and starts with numbers in the 5000 series. Until now, South Korea and the U.S. created OPLAN 5015 in 2015 by integrating ‘OPLAN 5029’ for sudden changes in North Korea, ‘OPLAN 5027’ for full-scale war, and peacetime plans responding to localized provocations. OPLAN 5015, also known as the ‘Kim Jong-un decapitation operation,’ is the latest operational plan that includes preemptive strikes and unit deployments to eliminate the command structure in the event of full-scale war with North Korea, and it is classified as a second-level secret of the ROK-U.S. Combined Forces.

South Korea and the U.S. have conducted combined exercises applying OPLAN 5015 to strike Pyongyang’s Yongbyon nuclear facilities, major command facilities, and key missile bases across North Korea. They have selected 700 Joint Defense Planning Installations (JDPI) for simulated attack drills. Additionally, exercises have been conducted to shorten the arrival time of cutting-edge strategic assets (strategic weapons) such as U.S. nuclear-powered aircraft carriers and nuclear submarines to the Korean Peninsula.

However, OPLAN 5015 was leaked in 2016 due to a hacking incident presumed to be carried out by North Korea targeting the Ministry of National Defense’s internal network. At that time, the military formed a follow-up task force (TF) consisting of 16 members, including the Director of Operations of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, promising technical and institutional improvements. Thirty-four measures were also prepared to prevent recurrence of hacking incidents. Some have pointed out that a new OPLAN is effectively necessary due to the leak of the existing plan.

Moreover, between South Korea and U.S. authorities, the need to revise the OPLAN has been raised as North Korea has miniaturized nuclear weapons and diversified nuclear weapon delivery systems such as intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBMs). The new OPLAN is reportedly planned to reflect the threat of North Korea’s small tactical nuclear weapons. It is observed that North Korea is developing short-range weapons as ‘tactical nuclear’ delivery means aimed not only at South Korea but also at U.S. bases in Japan adjacent to the East Sea.

In particular, the new OPLAN is expected to include additional Joint Defense Planning Installations (JDPI). In 2016, South Korea and the U.S. selected about 700 JDPI sites, including ‘biological weapon sources.’ However, last September, North Korea’s railway mobile missile regiment launched ballistic missiles from trains, diversifying launch platforms. Although North Korea’s railway network exceeds 5,000 km, most lines are single-track and facilities are aging, so only specific areas will be included as interception points.

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