US-ROK, Details of the Operational Plan to Be Included Starting Next Year

US-ROK Plan 2022 Outline This Month... Final Approval and Implementation Early Next Year

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Military Specialist Yang Nak-gyu] The South Korea-U.S. military authorities have finalized the framework for ‘Operation Plan (OPLAN) 2022.’ OPLAN 2022 includes the addition of North Korea’s small tactical nuclear weapon threats and Joint Defense Point of Interception (JDPI), and it is scheduled to be applied to outdoor field training starting next year.

According to military officials on the 22nd, the South Korea-U.S. alliance must go through a total of seven stages to establish the operation plan. The third stage, which involves analyzing the missions of each South Korea-U.S. unit and establishing defense measures, has already been completed. The two countries plan to run the operation plan through computer simulations, or war games, by the end of this month to make improvements. Next month, after final approval between South Korea and the U.S., the drafting of the operation plan is expected to be completed.

Until now, the South Korea-U.S. alliance has applied OPLAN 5015 to joint exercises. Known as the ‘Kim Jong-un decapitation operation,’ it is a plan that includes unit deployment for preemptive strikes and elimination of the command structure in the event of full-scale war with North Korea, and it is classified as a Level 2 secret within the South Korea-U.S. combined forces.

However, OPLAN 5015 does not include the advancement of North Korea’s nuclear missiles. Kim Jong-un, General Secretary of the Workers’ Party of Korea, presided over the 3rd Enlarged Meeting of the 8th Central Military Commission in June and announced plans to add operational missions for frontline units and revise the operation plan. This was effectively the first time North Korea publicly mentioned an operation plan. Although details were not disclosed at the time, it is analyzed that the operation plan is being revised to operate short-range missiles equipped with small nuclear warheads in frontline units.

In response, South Korea and the U.S. plan to add North Korea’s small tactical nuclear weapon threats and JDPI to the new operation plan. The two countries selected about 700 JDPI sites, including ‘biological weapon sources,’ in 2016. However, since last September, when North Korea’s railway mobile missile regiment launched ballistic missiles from trains, diversifying launch platforms, the need to reflect this has increased. Nevertheless, although North Korea’s railway network exceeds 5,000 km, most lines are single-track and facilities are aging, so only specific areas will be included as interception points.

Meanwhile, Minister of National Defense Lee Jong-seop held a major commanders’ meeting for the entire military in the second half of the year yesterday and announced plans to develop realistic exercise scenarios considering North Korea’s nuclear and missile threats and to advance the theater-level combined exercise system. The large-scale South Korea-U.S. combined outdoor field training, equivalent to the Eagle Exercise (FE) suspended during the Moon Jae-in administration, will be revived.

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