The U.S. military authorities have decided to share related information, including North Korea’s ballistic missile launches, acquired through early warning satellites with South Korea in real time.
Minister of National Defense Shin Won-sik and U.S. Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin disclosed this agreement between the two countries in a joint statement issued after the 55th ROK-US Security Consultative Meeting (SCM) held at the Pentagon building in Yongsan-gu, Seoul on the 13th.
According to the statement, both South Korea and the United States agreed to “further strengthen cooperation on the U.S. Early Warning Satellite Information Sharing System (SEWS) to improve the alliance’s detection capabilities in preparation for North Korea’s advanced missile threat.”
Currently, the U.S. Space Force operates about 10 early warning satellites. It is known that through this, the United States can detect the exhaust flames of ballistic missiles launched by North Korea in almost real time, regardless of the curvature of the earth, terrain, or obstacles.
In a statement on this day, Minister Shin and Minister Austin criticized North Korea’s heightened nuclear and missile threats and urged the international community to impose corresponding responsibility on North Korea for its actions.
In addition, both South Korea and the United States agreed to closely cooperate not only with each other but also with the international community to respond to North Korea’s malicious cyber activities and illegal activities such as virtual currency (cryptocurrency) theft, sending overseas labor, and maritime transshipment.
The two sides also reaffirmed their pledge to continue to promote and expand trilateral security cooperation between Korea, the United States, and Japan, including high-level policy consultations, trilateral training, information sharing, and defense exchanges and cooperation.
Secretary Austin said, “I reaffirm the United States’ firm commitment to provide ‘extended deterrence’ to the Republic of Korea by operating all categories of military capabilities, including nuclear and conventional weapons, missile defense, and advanced non-nuclear capabilities,” and added, “The United States, its allies, and Any nuclear attack by North Korea against a friendly country is unacceptable. “This will ultimately lead to the end of the Kim Jong-un regime,” he warned.
In addition, Secretary Austin said, “The Indo-Pacific region is the top priority theater for the U.S. Department of Defense,” and also reiterated the U.S. pledge to “continue to maintain the current level of U.S. forces stationed in Korea to defend the Republic of Korea.”
The ROK and U.S. defense ministers also agreed that in this SCM, they would further enhance the regular visibility of U.S. strategic assets in Korea and expand and deepen cooperation between the two countries’ militaries. In particular, South Korea and the United States decided to discuss ways to include North Korea’s use of nuclear weapons in future joint exercises.
Meanwhile, both Korea and the United States used this SCM as an opportunity to revise their ‘Tailored Deterrence Strategy’ (TDS) for the first time in 10 years.
TDS is a joint ROK-US deterrence strategy optimized for the situation on the Korean Peninsula, taking into account the characteristics of the North Korean leadership and the threat of nuclear and weapons of mass destruction (WMD), and was first drawn up in 2013.
It is known that the ROK and the U.S. revised the TDS this time to reflect a joint response strategy according to the recently advanced nuclear and missile threats from North Korea and the development of the capabilities of the ROK-U.S. alliance.
In addition, both sides agreed to receive periodic reports from the SCM on the progress of the ROK-US Nuclear Consultative Group (NCG), which was launched in April of this year in accordance with the Washington Declaration of the leaders of the ROK and the US. The NCG is responsible for joint nuclear strategic planning between Korea and the United States.
In addition, at the meeting on this day, the ROK and U.S. defense ministers reviewed the progress of the implementation tasks specified in the ‘Conditions-Based Warfare Operational Control Transition Plan (COTP)’ and reaffirmed the importance of maintaining peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait.
In addition, both sides agreed to further deepen cooperation in the defense cyber area and to strengthen cooperation in the defense industry between Korea and the United States through the Korea-US Security Supply Agreement (SOSA) and the Defense Mutual Procurement Agreement (RDP-A).
In addition, Minister Shin and Minister Austin evaluated that △ the Special Defense Cost-Sharing Agreement (SMA) between the ROK and the U.S. is contributing greatly to strengthening the combined defense posture of the ROK and the U.S., and △ the need for timely return of bases in accordance with the Status of Forces Agreement (SOFA) and related discussions. We decided to cooperate closely on all matters.
In commemoration of the 70th anniversary of the ROK-US alliance this year, both Korea and the US also approved the ‘ROK-US Alliance Defense Vision’, a future blueprint to prepare for the 100th anniversary of the alliance, using this SCM as an opportunity.
Through this vision, both South Korea and the United States plan to improve extended deterrence efforts against North Korea, modernize alliance capabilities by evolving into a science and technology alliance, and strengthen solidarity and regional security cooperation with similarly positioned countries as the three core pillars of alliance cooperation for the next 30 years. presented as an axis.
Meanwhile, Minister Shin is said to have explained to the U.S. through SCM that day the situation, including restrictions on our military’s surveillance of North Korea pursuant to the 2018 “September 19 Inter-Korean Military Agreement,” and its position on the necessity and justification for suspending its effect.
Minister Shin also conveyed our side’s position that “the Northern Limit Line (NLL) is an effective means of separating military power between North and South Korea and preventing military tension.”
Regarding the Defense Ministers’ Meeting of ROK-UNC Member States held on the 14th, the ROK and the US agreed to “seek to expand the UNC membership through the participation of countries with similar positions that share values with ROK and the US based on the principles and resolutions of the UN Charter.” We reached a consensus.
The ROK and the U.S. agreed to hold the 56th SCM and the 49th ROK-U.S. Military Committee Meeting (MCM) in Washington, D.C. at a convenient time next year.
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.