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| The flags of Republic of Korea, right, and the U.S. / Getty Images Bank |
By Jung Da-min
Seoul and Washington are set to hold the 16th Korea-U.S. Integrated Defense Dialogue (KIDD) at the Ministry of National Defense complex in Seoul from Thursday to Friday.
The working-level defense talks between the two countries comes after the ninth summit between President Moon Jae-in and U.S. President Donald Trump in New York, Tuesday (KST), on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly from Sept. 17 to 30.
A wide range of issues are likely to be on the agenda of the biannual meeting ― which comes ahead of the upcoming working-level denuclearization talks ― including Seoul's ending of General Security of Military Information Agreement (GSOMIA) with Japan and the transfer of wartime operational control and the return of U.S. Forces Korea (USFK) bases, both from Washington to Seoul.
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| Deputy Minister for National Defense Policy Chung Suk-hwan / Courtesy of National Defense |
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| U.S. Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for East Asia Heino Klinck / From U.S. Department of Defense website |
"Overall major security issues of the two countries including joint efforts for the denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula and establishment of permanent peace as well as the proceeding of conditions-based transfer of wartime operational control and developing and expanding the future Republic of Korea-U.S. alliance will be discussed at the upcoming meeting," the defense ministry said in a statement.
Since the 15th KIDD held in Washington in April, tensions surrounding the peninsula have heightened with North Korea's consecutive firing of missiles and rocket launches amid stalled denuclearization talks. The North has slammed the allies' joint drills.
The progress of denuclearization talks is also important for the transfer of wartime OPCON from Washington to Seoul, as the conditions for this included "stable" security circumstances on the Korean Peninsula.
The allies' latest joint drill named Combined Command Post Training from Aug. 11 to 20 was the first of such which focused on the verification of South Korean military's Initial Operational Capability (IOC) in preparation for the transfer of the wartime OPCON.
The role of the United Nations Command (UNC) could also be on the agenda at the KIDD as well as the review of the joint drill, as the U.S. and South Korean militaries reportedly showed differences over the scope of the UNC's future role after the transfer of wartime OPCON.
Also likely on the agenda is how to strengthen the regional alliance after the termination of the GSOMIA between South Korea and Japan in November, following Seoul's decision in August. The GSOMIA has served as a symbolic agreement contributing to the trilateral alliance among the U.S., South Korea and Japan.
But some observers were raising a possible rift between the allies at the ending of GSOMIA. On a related note, USFK recently said it remains committed to the early return of its 26 bases at the request of the South Korean government.
"Fifteen of 26 U.S. military installations, including four sites specifically requested for transfer at the earliest possible date ― Shea Range (available since October 2012), Camps Eagle and Long (December 2010) and parcels of Camp Market (February 2015) ― have been vacated, closed and are available for transfer to the ROK government as identified above. Two parcels of Yongsan Garrison have been vacated, closed and available for transfer since 2014 another three parcels since summer 2019 for a total of 5 parcels available now," the USFK said in a press release.
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