[Yang Nak-gyu's Defence Club] More Nuclear Forces Are Coming

South Korea-US Joint Press Release on DSC TTX
Focused Discussion on Countermeasures for North Korean Nuclear Use

[Asia Economy Yang Nak-gyu, Military Specialist Reporter] South Korea and the United States have decided to establish a system to deploy nuclear forces on the Korean Peninsula even during peacetime in response to North Korea's nuclear weapons and missiles.

According to the joint press release on the 'Deterrence Strategy Concept Tabletop Exercise' (DSC TTX) distributed by the Ministry of National Defense on the 24th, the South Korea-U.S. delegation created nuclear use scenarios reflecting North Korea's nuclear policy and capability trends and focused on discussing response measures.

DSC TTX is a discussion-based exercise jointly hosted by the South Korean and U.S. Ministries of National Defense to develop the North Korea nuclear response procedures of both countries on the Korean Peninsula, conducted through computer simulation. Both sides plan to report the results of this DSC TTX to the upcoming Korea-U.S. Integrated Defense Dialogue (KIDD) and Security Consultative Meeting (SCM) and incorporate various strategies into the 'Tailored Deterrence Strategy' (TDS).

The South Korea-U.S. delegation visited the U.S. Navy SSBN West Virginia on the 23rd. From the left: Lee Won-woo, Director of the North American Affairs Bureau, Ministry of Foreign Affairs; Alexandra Bell, Deputy Assistant Secretary for Arms Control Verification and Compliance, U.S. Department of State; Choi Byung-ok, Director of Defense Policy, Ministry of National Defense; Robert Sopji, Chief of Planning Staff, United States Forces Korea; Richard Johnson, Deputy Assistant Secretary for Nuclear and WMD Response, U.S. Department of Defense; Heo Tae-geun, Director General of Defense Policy, Ministry of National Defense; Park Hu-seong, Director of Nuclear and WMD Response, Joint Chiefs of Staff; Kim Su-gwang, Director of Strategic Planning, Joint Chiefs of Staff; Lee Kyung-gu, Defense Attach?, Embassy of the Republic of Korea in the U.S.; John Widener, Deputy Director of Plans, U.S. Strategic Command. (Photo by Ministry of National Defense)

Both sides agreed on the necessity to continuously strengthen 'extended deterrence' in areas such as information sharing, consultation systems and consultations during crises, and joint planning and execution. They also confirmed that the DSC TTX contributes to enhancing mutual understanding of the alliance's capability utilization and reinforcement, according to the South Korea-U.S. joint statement.

They visited the U.S. Navy nuclear-powered submarine base in Kings Bay, Georgia. The Kings Bay naval base is the home port of submarines equipped with submarine-launched ballistic missiles (SLBM), one of the three pillars of the U.S. nuclear triad. Rear Admiral Thomas Buchanan, Commander of the 10th Submarine Squadron, explained the mission of the Ohio-class nuclear submarines at the site, emphasizing that "the nuclear submarine forces operated by the United States are a core means of U.S. extended deterrence provided to its allies."

Meanwhile, a U.S. nuclear-powered aircraft carrier is expected to visit South Korea and conduct maritime exercises by the end of next month. This will be the first visit by a U.S. nuclear-powered aircraft carrier in five months. Given North Korea's strong opposition to the deployment of U.S. strategic assets and South Korea-U.S. joint exercises, and its high likelihood of conducting strategic provocations such as launching intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBM) and military reconnaissance satellites, this move is interpreted as a firm response to such provocations.

The aircraft carrier visiting South Korea is likely to be the USS Nimitz (CVN-68), which has been operating in the South China Sea since last year. It is expected to conduct maritime exercises in conjunction with the South Korea-U.S. joint exercise 'Freedom Shield' (FS) scheduled for mid-next month.

The military plans to expand the scale and scope of combined field training during this exercise period and intensively conduct combined field training such as division-level Ssangryong combined amphibious landing exercises at the level of past 'Foal Eagle' exercises.

In September and October of last year, the Ronald Reagan (CVN-76) carrier strike group consecutively deployed to the Korean Peninsula to conduct South Korea-U.S. joint exercises. This was to implement the agreement made at last year's Security Consultative Meeting (SCM) to increase the frequency and intensity of U.S. asset deployment on the Korean Peninsula to a 'permanent deployment level.'

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