Ministry of National Defense: "No Intention to Participate in US MD"

Denial of Controversy Over Real-Time Sharing of Missile Warning Information Among South Korea, US, and Japan Leaders

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Yang Nak-gyu, Military Specialist Reporter] The Ministry of National Defense has repeatedly emphasized that it has no intention to participate in the United States' missile defense (MD) system. This response comes amid recent agreements to strengthen security cooperation such as real-time sharing of missile warning information among South Korea, the United States, and Japan, North Korea's intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) provocations, and plans to establish a Space Force unit within the US Forces Korea, raising the possibility of South Korea joining the MD system.

On the 1st, Moon Hong-sik, Deputy Spokesperson of the Ministry of National Defense, stated at a regular briefing, "I would like to clearly reiterate that our government has no intention of participating in the US MD."

Deputy Spokesperson Moon said, "Regarding MD, the government announced more than 20 years ago that it would not join, and even after changes in government, this position has remained unchanged."

He added, "Our military is independently building a Korean-style missile defense system for missile defense, and to respond to North Korea's ballistic missile threats, we are conducting missile defense combined operations on the Korean Peninsula based on interoperability such as information sharing under the ROK-US combined system."

Deputy Spokesperson Moon further explained, "To join the MD, various aspects such as using the same system like NATO or jointly developing weapons must be accomplished, but South Korea does not have such aspects. We are conducting defense operations based on interoperability through information sharing at that level."

On the 13th of last month, during the trilateral summit of South Korea, the United States, and Japan held in Phnom Penh, Cambodia (local time), the joint statement included an expression of intent for real-time information sharing among the three countries regarding North Korean missiles, which sparked controversy over South Korea's participation in the US MD system.

Earlier, the three leaders agreed in the joint statement of the summit held in Phnom Penh to confirm the US commitment to strengthen extended deterrence against North Korea's nuclear and missile threats, express the intention for real-time information sharing among the three countries regarding North Korean missiles, and establish a trilateral economic security dialogue. South Korea and Japan have been sharing military information up to level 2 secret, excluding level 1, through the 2014 ROK-US-Japan Information Sharing Agreement (TISA) and the 2016 ROK-Japan General Security of Military Information Agreement (GSOMIA).

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