Korea-US Strengthen Extended Deterrence Talks... "Plan for Tabletop Exercise Assuming North Korean Nuclear Use"

by Cho Seulkina

Published 12 Apr.2024 09:00(KST)

South Korea and the United States have confirmed plans to conduct a tabletop exercise (TTX) assuming the use of nuclear weapons by North Korea as part of strengthening their response to North Korea's nuclear threat.

According to the U.S. Department of Defense, South Korea and the U.S. discussed this during the 24th Korea-U.S. Integrated Defense Dialogue (KIDD) meeting held on the 11th (local time) in Washington, D.C. The meeting was attended by Cho Chang-rae, Director of Defense Policy at South Korea’s Ministry of National Defense, Ely Ratner, U.S. Assistant Secretary of Defense for Indo-Pacific Security Affairs, Andrew Winternitz, Acting Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for East Asia, and other key defense and diplomatic officials from both countries.

Both sides agreed to demonstrate the strength of the Korea-U.S. alliance through close and coordinated bilateral responses if North Korea engages in provocations, threats, or actions that undermine peace and stability in the region. The U.S. reaffirmed its commitment to defend South Korea by utilizing all U.S. military capabilities, including nuclear, conventional, missile defense, and advanced non-nuclear capabilities, and to regularly and visibly deploy strategic assets. The U.S. also emphasized its position that any nuclear attack by North Korea targeting the U.S. or its allies will not be tolerated.

Furthermore, both sides shared the view that North Korea-Russia military cooperation undermines peace and stability in the Korean Peninsula, the Indo-Pacific region, and Europe, and agreed to closely cooperate with the international community in responding to this.

Regarding the Korea-U.S. joint exercises, they will be maintained in a manner that allows immediate response to the security environment on the Korean Peninsula. Both sides agreed on the need to improve training conditions, such as by jointly using South Korean facilities and airspace to enable realistic training for their forces. They also agreed to further modernize alliance capabilities by leveraging the scientific and technological strengths of both countries.

Additionally, discussions were held on establishing a Korea-U.S. high-level committee to enable scientific and technological cooperation, South Korea’s proposal to hold a Korea-U.S. Joint Defense Science and Technology Conference, and cooperation in strengthening the defense industrial base as well as in maintenance, repair, and overhaul (MRO) sectors. Progress on the Korea-U.S. Reciprocal Defense Procurement Agreement (RDP-A), strengthening the United Nations Command (UNC), and the status of the transfer of wartime operational control (OPCON) were also reviewed and discussed.

Moreover, both sides shared the recognition that trilateral cooperation with Japan is very important to achieving the shared security objectives of South Korea and the U.S. in the Korean Peninsula and the Indo-Pacific region, and agreed to deepen cooperation through the Korea-U.S.-Japan trilateral defense dialogue. They also agreed on the importance of maintaining peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait.