Deputy Minister of National Defense Confirms Strategic Assets at US Andrews Joint Base

‘B-52 Strategic Bomber Nuclear Warhead’ Unveiled

[Asia Economy Yang Nak-gyu, Military Specialist Reporter] The United States has revealed the B-52 strategic bomber to South Korea. Analysts suggest that the joint confirmation and public display of strategic assets like the B-52 by South Korea and the U.S. is intended to clearly demonstrate to North Korea the willingness to utilize strategic weapons in case of emergency.

According to the Ministry of National Defense on the 16th, Shin Beom-cheol, Deputy Minister of National Defense, who is visiting the U.S. for discussions of the South Korea-U.S. Extended Deterrence Strategy Committee (EDSCG) to respond to North Korean nuclear threats, visited the Andrews Joint Base on the 15th (local time) to directly inspect U.S. strategic assets.

At this occasion, Deputy Minister Shin received explanations about U.S. strategic assets deployed to the Korean Peninsula in emergencies, including the B-52 strategic bomber, as well as the types and operations of low-yield nuclear weapons, and personally confirmed the part where nuclear warheads are mounted under the wings of the B-52. The U.S. deploys the B-52H in Guam, Pacific Ocean, for purposes such as deployment to the Korean Peninsula in emergencies and containment of China around the South China Sea.

The B-52H carries nuclear-capable AGM-129 cruise missiles (12 units) and AGM-86A cruise missiles (20 units). It can also carry 8 AGM-84 Harpoon air-to-surface missiles with conventional warheads, 4 AGM-142 Raptor air-to-ground missiles, 12 JDAMs, 81 conventional bombs weighing 500 pounds (226.7 kg) and 1,000 pounds, and 12 GPS-guided inertial bombs (JSOW), totaling 32 tons of weapons.

The U.S. side mentioned that, in line with the purpose and intent of the EDSCG, a special opportunity was arranged for the South Korean delegation to directly inspect U.S. strategic assets on site. Additionally, senior U.S. extended deterrence officials who accompanied the visit, including Bipan Narang, Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Space Policy; Siddharth Mohandas, Deputy Assistant Secretary for East Asia; and Richard Johnson, Deputy Assistant Secretary for Nuclear and WMD Response, took commemorative photos in front of the B-52, which were made public.

Deputy Minister Shin emphasized that the visit to Andrews Joint Base was "a good opportunity to confirm the strong capability of the U.S. to fulfill its extended deterrence commitment to the Republic of Korea," and stated, "U.S. strategic assets are a definite means to demonstrate action to our people and North Korea."

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