South Korea and the U.S. Warn "Use of North Korean Nuclear Weapons Will Bring Doom"

South Korea and the United States have decided to accelerate the expansion of South Korea's role in the combined defense system to strengthen the execution capability of extended deterrence. The two countries repeatedly warned that if North Korea uses nuclear weapons, it would bring about the end of the Kim Jong-un regime.

The Ministry of National Defense of the Republic of Korea and the United States Department of Defense held the 22nd Korea-U.S. Integrated Defense Dialogue (KIDD) meeting on April 11-12 (local time) in Washington D.C., USA. From left in the photo are Lee Seung-beom, Director of International Policy at the Korean Ministry of National Defense; Heo Tae-geun, Director of Defense Policy; Ely Ratner, U.S. Assistant Secretary of Defense for Indo-Pacific Security Affairs; and Siddharth Mohandas, U.S. Deputy Assistant Secretary for East Asia. (Photo by Ministry of National Defense)

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On the 11th and 12th (local time), the South Korean and U.S. Departments of Defense held the 22nd Korea-U.S. Integrated Defense Dialogue (KIDD) meeting in Washington, D.C., and announced on the 13th that they discussed measures to strengthen the execution capability of extended deterrence in response to the North Korean nuclear threat.

At the meeting, South Korea was represented by Heo Tae-geun, Director of Defense Policy, and the U.S. Department of Defense was represented by Ely Ratner, Assistant Secretary of Defense for Indo-Pacific Security Affairs, and Siddharth Mohandas, Deputy Assistant Secretary for East Asia, as chief representatives.

According to the joint statement released by South Korea and the U.S. after the meeting, both sides reaffirmed their shared goal of "complete and verifiable denuclearization" of the Korean Peninsula at the Security Policy Initiative (SPI), a detailed meeting under KIDD, and agreed to strengthen the combined defense posture and capabilities of the Korea-U.S. alliance to defend the Republic of Korea and deter conflicts on the Korean Peninsula. They also jointly recognized the importance of restoring large-scale field training and agreed on the necessity of realistic combined exercises and training in the latter half of the year. In particular, the Korea-U.S. alliance emphasized that "any nuclear attack by North Korea against the United States, its allies, or partners is unacceptable and will bring about the end of the Kim Jong-un regime."

The South Korean Ministry of National Defense's plan to establish a combined joint multipurpose live-fire training range and the plan for "routine and free access" to the THAAD base were also discussed. The Korea-U.S. Deterrence Strategy Committee (DSC) addressed measures to strengthen the execution capability of extended deterrence. To prepare for North Korea's threats, South Korea and the U.S. agreed to enhance cooperation in extended deterrence across areas such as information sharing, joint planning and execution, consultation systems, and communication during crises, while accelerating the expansion of South Korea's role within the combined defense system. The U.S. reaffirmed its defense commitment to South Korea, operating military capabilities across all categories, including nuclear and conventional missile defense capabilities and advanced non-nuclear capabilities.

At the Combined Operational Transition Working Group (COTWG) meeting, the parties reviewed the capabilities and systems approved so far and agreed to pursue verification of Full Operational Capability (FOC) at the Security Consultative Meeting (SCM) to be held in Seoul this November.

Furthermore, at this high-level KIDD meeting, South Korea and the U.S. agreed to closely cooperate in implementing South Korea's Indo-Pacific strategy and the U.S. Indo-Pacific strategy. They discussed the results of the first Korea-U.S. Regional Cooperation Working Group meeting held last month and agreed to explore cooperation measures with ASEAN and Pacific island countries. The Korea-U.S. alliance evaluated that "the 22nd KIDD strengthened the coordination of the Korea-U.S. alliance and enhanced the Korea-U.S. combined defense posture."

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