Completion of North Korea Nuclear Contingency Plan 2022... Implementation Starting in the Second Half [Yang Nak-gyu's Defence Club]

Finalizing Operation Plans Including Missions for Each ROK-US Unit
Establishing Nuclear Attack Response Measures for Each Government Ministry

‘Operation Plan (OPLAN) 2022’ to counter North Korea's nuclear and missile threats has been finalized. In the second half of the year, it will be applied not only to the ROK-US combined exercises but also to the Eulji Exercise conducted by government ministries.

[Image source=Yonhap News]

On the 29th, a government official stated, “The ROK-US military has completed the stage of analyzing unit-specific missions and establishing countermeasures through OPLAN 2022 and is now in the final phase.” It is expected that the combined ROK-US nuclear and conventional integrated operations (CNI), including the elimination of North Korean leadership, will be specifically reviewed during the second half combined exercises.

On the previous day, Lee Seong-jun, Director of Public Affairs at the Joint Chiefs of Staff, and Isaac Taylor, Public Affairs Officer of the ROK-US Combined Forces Command, United Nations Command, and United States Forces Korea, said at a joint briefing held at the Ministry of National Defense in Seoul, “We understand that scenarios involving North Korea’s use of nuclear weapons will be discussed during the August UFS (Ulchi Freedom Shield) exercise, the 2024 whole-of-government TTS (Tabletop Simulation), and military-defense TTX (Extended Deterrence Operations Exercise).” This is the first time ROK-US military officials have officially announced the application of a North Korean nuclear contingency scenario.

Until now, the ROK-US forces have applied ‘OPLAN 5015’ in combined exercises. However, since it was created over ten years ago, there have been criticisms that it does not reflect North Korea’s enhanced nuclear and missile capabilities nor changes in the combined ROK-US military strength.

With North Korea’s nuclear and missile advancements, the joint defense points (JDPI) that the ROK-US must strike during wartime have also changed. In 2016, the two countries selected about 700 JDPI targets, including North Korea’s biological weapons production sites. As North Korea’s missile launch methods have diversified, such as the Railway Mobile Missile Regiment launching ballistic missiles from trains, various target sites have been included.

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