Discussion on Strengthening Extended Deterrence Execution Capability at SCM in Seoul on the 13th

Possibility of South Korea-US-Japan Defense Ministers Meeting... Expected Discussion on 'Missile Early Warning Information Sharing'

With the 55th Security Consultative Meeting (SCM) between South Korea and the United States scheduled to be held in Seoul on the 13th, the possibility of a South Korea-U.S.-Japan defense ministers' meeting is also increasing.

[Image source=Yonhap News]

According to the Ministry of National Defense on the 8th, Minister of National Defense Shin Won-sik and U.S. Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin will hold the SCM at the Yongsan Ministry of National Defense building on the 13th.

This will be their first face-to-face meeting since Minister Shin took office last month, and the SCM is expected to focus on concretizing the operation of the Nuclear Consultative Group (NCG) and other measures to implement extended deterrence.

At a press briefing on the 3rd, Minister Shin stated, "With the U.S. Secretary of Defense coming this time, we are preparing the meeting with the intention of further specifying the three pillars of extended deterrence."

He explained that extended deterrence traditionally referred to the U.S. nuclear umbrella provided through three major nuclear retaliation means: intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBMs), submarine-launched ballistic missiles, and strategic bombers. However, under President Barack Obama in 2010, the concept of the "three pillars of extended deterrence" was expanded to include nuclear forces, conventional forces, missile defense, defense research and development, and defense industry cooperation.

Given that the extended deterrence between South Korea and the U.S. has developed to the level of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) through the "Washington Declaration" by the South Korea-U.S. leaders and the "Camp David Declaration" by the South Korea-U.S.-Japan leaders, Minister Shin's plan is to focus on concretizing the three pillars of extended deterrence at this SCM. The two sides are also expected to re-examine the "conditional transfer of wartime operational control" agreement.

Meanwhile, there is also a possibility that the South Korea-U.S.-Japan defense ministers' meeting will be held in conjunction with this SCM. If it takes place, it will be the first time in five months since the meeting held during the Shangri-La Dialogue (Asia Security Conference) in Singapore last June. The meeting is expected to discuss trilateral cooperation measures to respond to North Korea's nuclear and missile threats and the issue of activating a real-time missile warning information sharing system within the year. Minister Shin has not yet met or spoken with Japan’s Defense Minister Kihara Minoru, who took office last September.

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