Lee Jong-seop Visits 'US Largest' Think Tank... Experts Say "Timely Warning to North Korea"

Minister Lee "Achievements in Strengthening Extended Deterrence Execution"
US Experts "Agree on the Need to Expand South Korea's Involvement"

Defense Minister Lee Jong-seop is having a conversation with Susan Meloney, Deputy Director of the Brookings Institution, at the Brookings Institution in the United States on the 4th (local time).
[Photo by Ministry of National Defense]

[Asia Economy Reporter Jang Hee-jun] Defense Minister Lee Jong-seop, after attending the 54th Security Consultative Meeting (SCM) between South Korea and the United States, visited the Brookings Institution, the largest think tank in the U.S., to exchange views with diplomatic and security experts on the situation on the Korean Peninsula.

According to the Ministry of National Defense on the 5th, Minister Lee hosted a breakfast meeting at the Brookings Institution on the 4th (local time), discussing the Korean Peninsula and regional situation, as well as alliance issues, with attendees including Susan Maloney, Vice President of the Brookings Institution, Robert Einhorn, Senior Fellow, Michael O’Hanlon, Senior Fellow, and Patricia Kim, Researcher.

The experts expressed concern that tensions on the Korean Peninsula are escalating unprecedentedly due to North Korea’s continuous provocations, and evaluated that the SCM held the previous day, where South Korea and the U.S. devised measures to strengthen the credibility of extended deterrence provided by the U.S. and sent a strong warning message to North Korea, was very timely and highly significant.

U.S. Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin warned at the SCM meeting that "any nuclear attack, including non-strategic (tactical) nuclear weapons, against the United States, its allies, and partners will not be tolerated and will bring about the end of the Kim Jong-un regime."

Minister of National Defense Lee Jong-seop (right) is meeting with foreign and security experts including Robert Einhorn, Senior Fellow, and Petrisa Kim, Researcher, at the Brookings Institution in the United States on the 4th (local time).
[Photo by Ministry of National Defense]

Minister Lee explained that South Korea and the U.S. reached a consensus on the need for new-level measures considering the implications of North Korea’s recent nuclear capability development and aggressive policy changes, and as a result of discussing various ways to effectively deter and respond to North Korea’s threats at this SCM, more substantive outcomes than ever before were achieved.

Regarding this, U.S. experts agreed that, considering the recent North Korean nuclear and missile threats, measures to expand South Korea’s involvement in extended deterrence are necessary, and analyzed that the specific agreements reached on extended deterrence strategy at this SCM are very desirable outcomes in terms of reinforcing alliance assurance and deterrence against North Korea.

Additionally, U.S. experts showed interest in ▲ the trend of strengthening South Korea’s own military capabilities, including the three-axis system to respond to North Korea’s nuclear and missile threats ▲ the South Korea-U.S. response plan in case of North Korea’s seventh nuclear test ▲ and the contents of the 'Bold Initiative' proposal.

A Ministry of National Defense official said, "Minister Lee expressed deep gratitude to the U.S. experts for proposing various measures through the breakfast meeting to promote denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula, strengthen extended deterrence, and enhance stability and peace in the Indo-Pacific region," adding, "He also requested continued research and interest from experts for the development of the South Korea-U.S. alliance."

Meanwhile, the Brookings Institution, established in 1916 as the first U.S. non-governmental think tank in the field of public policy, boasts the largest scale in the United States.

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