South Korea and the U.S. "Timely Deployment of U.S. Strategic Assets on the Korean Peninsula"

At the ROK-US Defense Ministers' SCM, a "Commitment to Extended Deterrence Including Nuclear Capabilities"

[Asia Economy Yang Nak-gyu, Military Specialist Reporter] On the 3rd (local time), Defense Minister Lee Jong-seop and U.S. Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin reaffirmed the U.S. commitment to "deploy U.S. strategic assets to the Korean Peninsula in a timely and coordinated manner as needed, expand measures to counter North Korea's destabilizing actions, and seek new measures to strengthen deterrence."

In a joint statement released after the 54th Security Consultative Meeting (SCM) held at the Pentagon in Virginia, the two ministers stated, "We have agreed to further strengthen the alliance's capabilities, information sharing, consultation procedures, joint planning, and execution to deter and respond to North Korea's advancing nuclear and missile threats."

The two ministers agreed to closely consult through various consultative bodies, including the Korea-U.S. Integrated Defense Dialogue (KIDD), to explore enhanced extended deterrence measures.

Secretary Austin warned, "Any nuclear attack, including non-strategic (tactical) nuclear weapons, against the U.S., its allies, or partners is unacceptable and would bring about the end of the Kim Jong-un regime." Regarding South Korea's 'Bold Initiative,' Secretary Austin welcomed it as a useful approach to lead North Korea toward denuclearization.

He also reiterated the U.S. commitment to continuously maintain the current level of U.S. Forces Korea to defend the Republic of Korea.

Secretary Austin emphasized, "We have decided with Minister Lee Jong-seop to expand the Korea-U.S. joint air exercise 'Vigilant Storm' to strengthen our posture," adding, "We will closely coordinate to prepare countermeasures to protect the U.S. and its allies." He also stated, "We discussed North Korea's ongoing provocations and security threat activities," and affirmed, "Our alliance is ironclad, and the U.S. is committed to extended deterrence across the full spectrum, including nuclear, conventional, and missile defense."

The two ministers also agreed to closely cooperate to resume large-scale joint field training exercises next year in conjunction with combined exercises. They spoke with one voice on promoting trilateral security cooperation among Korea, the U.S., and Japan.

The two ministers stated, "Both sides reaffirmed their commitment to continuously enhance and expand trilateral security cooperation through regular security meetings such as the Korea-U.S.-Japan Defense Trilateral Talks (DTT)." Regarding the Indo-Pacific region, the ministers agreed, "The Korea-U.S. alliance plays a key role in the security, stability, and prosperity of the Indo-Pacific region," and explained, "We will continue to promote defense and security cooperation in the Indo-Pacific region and the international community."

Regarding the conditions-based plan for the transfer of wartime operational control (OPCON), the two ministers explained that all evaluation tasks met the standards according to the Future Combined Forces Command's Full Operational Capability (FOC) assessment results, and that discussions on verifying FOC will proceed after a joint Korea-U.S. evaluation of the capabilities and systems of 'Condition 1' and 'Condition 2.'

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