<기사제목>Deputy Defense Minister Confirms Strategic Assets at US Andrews Joint Base (Comprehensive)

B-52 Nuclear Warhead Mount Under Wing Revealed
Shows Intent to Use in Korean Peninsula Contingencies
US Deputy Defense Secretary Also Meets, Pledges "Close Cooperation"

Shin Beom-cheol, Deputy Minister of National Defense (far left), is seen on the 15th (local time) visiting Andrews Joint Base in Maryland, USA, inspecting the nuclear warhead loading section of a B-52 strategic bomber. (Photo by Ministry of National Defense)

[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 if necessary.

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

At this event, 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 nuclear warhead mounted under the B-52's wing. 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 in the South China Sea region.

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

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 Weapons of Mass Destruction (WMD) Policy, 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."

Deputy Minister Shin also met with Kathleen Hicks, U.S. Deputy Secretary of Defense. Both sides shared recent developments regarding North Korea and agreed to closely cooperate to firmly maintain the combined defense posture based on the strong South Korea-U.S. alliance, aiming for the practical denuclearization of North Korea.

Deputy Minister Shin also met with U.S. Representative Joe Wilson to exchange views on security issues. Representative Wilson serves as co-chair of the ‘Korea Caucus,’ a group of lawmakers supportive of South Korea. Deputy Minister Shin expressed deep gratitude for Wilson’s legislative efforts to strengthen the South Korea-U.S. alliance and especially for his work to ensure that the U.S. extended deterrence commitment was reflected in the Fiscal Year 2023 National Defense Authorization Act recently passed by the House of Representatives.

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