“In the short term, the US will have to redeploy tactical nuclear weapons on the Korean Peninsula.” (Former White House National Security Advisor John Bolton)
“It has a symbolic meaning to document the intention to respond if North Korea uses nuclear weapons in relation to the US promise of extended deterrence (nuclear umbrella) at the Korea-US summit.” (Sumi Terry Woodrow Wilson Center Asian Program Director)
On the 25th, the day before the Korea-US summit, experts on the Korean Peninsula gathered in Seoul to discuss ways to increase the reliability and concreteness of the US extended deterrence. At the Asan Planum 2023 held by the Asan Institute for Policy Studies at the Hyatt Hotel in Seoul on this day, the blueprint for the ROK-US alliance, which celebrated its 70th anniversary, was introduced in various ways. The Asan Planum, a large forum that invites security experts from around the world every April, resumed face-to-face for the first time in four years since 2019.
At the Asan Planum 2023 held at the Grand Hyatt Hotel in Seoul on the 25th, Chung Mong-joon, honorary chairman of the Asan Institute for Policy Studies, gives a welcome speech. The Asan Institute for Policy StudiesExperts attending the Asan Planum focused their discussions on strengthening the provision of extended deterrence by the United States, which will emerge from the summit. “If North Korea launches a missile with a nuclear warhead into the East Sea, the US will definitely respond with nuclear weapons in accordance with the extended deterrence strategy,” said Bruce Bennett, senior researcher at the Rand Institute in the US, during a meeting with reporters on the same day. The regime will not survive.” In effect, it suggests that the US will use nuclear weapons as a means to cause the end of the North Korean regime in the event of a nuclear attack on the Korean Peninsula. However, regarding the specific methodology, he pointed out that “the US deterrence philosophy is strategic ambiguity,” and “our enemies tend to avoid risks, so ambiguity has the best deterrence effect.”
“The North Korean threat is unprecedentedly aggravating the crisis, and the importance of extended deterrence is being emphasized,” said Sung Kim, the U.S. special representative for North Korea.
Director Terry also said, “It is symbolic if the US government announces in a document (after the Korea-US summit) that it will respond if North Korea uses nuclear weapons, regardless of scale, if it uses nuclear weapons,” he said. The situation will improve,” he said. “It is true that Chairman Kim Jong-un is unlikely to come to the dialogue table and cannot use the help of China and Russia, so it is true that the means to exert pressure on North Korea are limited in the current situation,” he said.
John Hamley, chairman of the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS), said in a video congratulatory speech, “The real meaning of the word extended deterrence is that we will fight side by side with South Korea, and that we will expand the scope to the use of nuclear weapons if necessary.” It is a question of whether the Korean people can be trusted and can continue to cooperate with us, and dealing with this should be the first step.” He also added that understanding the burden and obligations of South Korea’s own nuclear deterrence should be a priority.
Former White House national security adviser John Bolton, who played a key role in the 2019 Hanoi-North Korea summit, suggested in a keynote speech that “the redeployment of tactical nuclear weapons by the United States on the Korean Peninsula is necessary in the short term.” The Asan Institute for Policy StudiesSome experts even pointed to the redeployment of tactical nuclear weapons by the US on the Korean Peninsula as a specific extended deterrence method. Former aide Bolton, a representative hardliner on North Korea, said in a keynote speech that day, “We need to show Kim Jong-un (North Korea’s Chairman of the State Council) or whoever’s successor that South Korea and the United States can use nuclear tactical weapons without hesitation.” can,” he said. In addition, he said, “This can buy Korea time to think long and seriously about whether it wants to have its own nuclear capability.” The intention is that South Korea’s own nuclear armament theory, which is growing in North Korea’s development of various nuclear weapons, can be managed through the redeployment of tactical nuclear weapons by the United States.
In addition to extended deterrence, measures for cooperation between South Korea and the U.S. to respond to North Korean nuclear provocations were also discussed. Representative Kim said, “Now is the time for South Korea and the U.S. to join forces and strongly pressure North Korea.” According to Kim, the US State Department and Treasury Department are sanctioning 50 North Korea-related activities without help from China and Russia. By informing the North Korean public that an intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) costs 3 to 5 billion dollars (approximately 4.8 to 6.68 trillion won), the U. Psychological warfare is evaluated as effective.
Security experts from the Korean Peninsula and the Indo-Pacific region are gathering to listen to the discussion on the Asan Planum 2023. The Asan Institute for Policy StudiesPeople’s Power Supreme Commissioner Tae Young-ho diagnosed that day, “The purpose of North Korea’s nuclear development is to show off that it can respond to God’s alliance with nuclear weapons.” Recognizing that it is an unfavorable situation to counter with, it is time to add a regional nuclear state.”
Source: Donga
Mark Jones is a world traveler and journalist for News Rebeat. With a curious mind and a love of adventure, Mark brings a unique perspective to the latest global events and provides in-depth and thought-provoking coverage of the world at large.