US and South Korean Defense Ministers Coordinate Action Plan to Prepare for North Korean Provocations

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Yang Nak-gyu, Military Specialist Reporter] Defense Minister Lee Jong-seop will have his first face-to-face meeting with U.S. Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin on the 11th. At this meeting, the defense ministers of South Korea and the United States will discuss North Korea's nuclear tests and missile provocations.

According to the Ministry of National Defense on the day, Minister Lee will hold talks with U.S. Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin at the Shangri-La Hotel in Singapore, where the Asia Security Conference (Shangri-La Dialogue) is being held.

The two ministers had their first phone call on the 18th of last month, discussing current issues such as North Korea's ballistic missile test launches and preparations for nuclear tests, emphasizing the need for close South Korea-U.S. cooperation.

It is expected that the response measures to North Korea's nuclear and missile threats will be intensively discussed at this meeting as well. Both sides are likely to share assessments of the tense situation on the Korean Peninsula, where North Korea's provocations have escalated, including intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) provocations and preparations for nuclear tests, and will also discuss ways to strengthen the combined defense posture. In particular, there is a possibility that an 'action plan' to be activated in the event of North Korea's nuclear test provocations, including the deployment of U.S. strategic assets, will be coordinated.

Following the South Korea-U.S. talks, Minister Lee will also hold a trilateral defense ministers' meeting with Secretary Austin and Japanese Defense Minister Kishi Nobuo (岸信夫). This is the first time in two years and seven months that the defense chiefs of South Korea, the U.S., and Japan have gathered in one place since the ASEAN Defense Ministers' Meeting-Plus (ADMM-Plus) in November 2019. The trilateral meeting is expected to address ways to enhance security cooperation among the three countries in response to North Korea's nuclear and missile threats.

In this regard, there is a possibility that the U.S. or Japan may raise the issue of trilateral joint exercises, but South Korea is reportedly maintaining the position that it is currently 'premature.'

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