South Korea and the U.S. Hold Extended Deterrence Strategy Consultation for the First Time in 4 Years and 8 Months... Discussion Details

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Yang Nak-gyu, Military Specialist Reporter] South Korea and the United States will hold a high-level Extended Deterrence Strategy Consultation Group (EDSCG) meeting in Washington D.C. on the 16th of this month (local time). It is the first meeting in 4 years and 8 months. The EDSCG is a deputy minister-level consultative body where the foreign and defense authorities of South Korea and the United States discuss effective operational measures for extended deterrence in a '2+2' format. This meeting is being held following the early reactivation agreement made by the South Korea-U.S. leaders in May.

According to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Ministry of National Defense on the 8th, the 3rd South Korea-U.S. Foreign and Defense (2+2) High-Level Extended Deterrence Strategy Consultation Group meeting will be held on the 16th in Washington D.C., USA. From South Korea, Cho Hyun-dong, 1st Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs, and Shin Beom-chul, Vice Minister of National Defense, will attend as chief representatives. From the U.S., Bonnie Jenkins, Under Secretary of State for Arms Control and International Security, and Colin Kahl, Under Secretary of Defense for Policy, will serve as chief representatives.

The government explained that at this meeting, "the South Korea-U.S. foreign and defense vice ministers plan to conduct in-depth discussions on comprehensive deterrence measures against North Korea, including ways to strengthen the effectiveness of extended deterrence amid the severe security situation on the Korean Peninsula." Extended deterrence is a concept where the United States provides deterrence at the same level as its homeland by deploying nuclear umbrellas, missile defense systems, and conventional weapons if an ally faces a nuclear attack threat from a hostile country.

South Korea and the U.S. decided to establish the EDSCG at the October 2016 Foreign and Defense Ministers' Meeting (2+2) and held the first meeting in December of the same year. During the Moon Jae-in administration, the two countries agreed to regularize the EDSCG at the July 2017 South Korea-U.S. summit. The second meeting was held in January 2018.

However, from the first half of 2018, as a mood of reconciliation between South and North Korea and denuclearization negotiations involving South Korea, North Korea, and the U.S. was created, no subsequent EDSCG meetings were held after the second meeting. In May of this year, during U.S. President Joe Biden's visit to South Korea, the first South Korea-U.S. summit agreed to reactivate the EDSCG as soon as possible.

With denuclearization talks stalled and North Korea's nuclear threats escalating, the Yoon Suk-yeol administration, which took office under these circumstances, has emphasized strengthening the credibility and effectiveness of extended deterrence as a key response to North Korea's nuclear threat. In this context, the practical reactivation of the EDSCG has been pursued as an important task from the transition team stage, in consultation with the United States.

Minister of National Defense Lee Jong-sup said during his visit to the U.S. in July, "If the U.S. has a firm will to protect South Korea against North Korea's threats even at the risk of its own homeland being attacked, there must be something to support that, and that is the EDSCG."

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