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| Defense Minister Han Min-koo, left, speaks as Foreign Minister Yun Byung-se, second from left, U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry, third from left, and Defense Secretary Ash Carter listen during a meeting at the State Department in Washington, Wednesday. / AP-Yonhap |
Seoul, Washington to discuss permanent allocation of nuclear-capable bombers
By Jun Ji-hye
South Korea and the United States have officially begun discussions on the permanent deployment of strategic weapons such as nuclear-capable bombers on the Korean Peninsula.
This was at the top of the agenda in the "two plus two" high-level security talks among Foreign Minister Yun Byung-se and Defense Minister Han Min-koo, and U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry and Defense Secretary Ash Carter in Washington, Thursday.
Foreign Minister Yun Byung-se told reporters after the meeting that the two defense chiefs will discuss details about how to deploy U.S. strategic assets in South Korea during the annual Security Consultative Meeting (SCM).
"The permanent deployment of U.S. strategic assets will be discussed at the defense chiefs' talks," he said.
U.S. strategic assets include nuclear-capable B-52 and B-1B bombers, F-22 stealth fighter jets, nuclear-powered attack submarines and nuclear-powered aircraft carriers.
Military sources here said that working-level officials of the two nations have already been talking on permanently deploying B-1B Lancers or Aegis destroyers to South Korea.
Washington has dispatched various assets including strategic bombers and aircraft carriers to the peninsula in a show of force in response to North Korea's major provocations including a nuclear test.
In the wake of the fifth test on Sept. 9, B-1B Lancers stationed on Guam flew over South Korea, while the USS Ronald Reagan (CVN-76), home-ported at Yokosuka in Japan, sailed to the East Sea to participate in a joint naval exercise.
Pyongyang has reacted sensitively to the U.S. weapons dispatched, but skepticism has also been abounding that their simple flyover or participation in a drill just for a few days is insufficient to effectively deter provocations from the isolated state.
During the two plus two meeting, Seoul and Washington also agreed to begin high-level dialogue to discuss how to carry out the U.S. "extended deterrence" protection of its Asian ally against nuclear and missile threats from the North.
Extended deterrence refers to Washington's stated commitment to defend its ally by mobilizing all military capabilities ― nuclear and conventional ― to cope with the North's aggression and provocations. The U.S. has provided extended deterrence or a "nuclear umbrella" to South Korea after withdrawing nuclear weapons from the peninsula following the 1991 inter-Korean denuclearization declaration.
The agreement to establish the "Extended Deterrence Strategy and Consultation Group" (EDSCG) represented a firmer commitment from Washington to defend its ally amid heightened security concerns in Seoul in the wake of the North's latest nuclear test and a series ballistic missile launches in recent months, officials noted.
"I assured the minister of our commitment, the United States' commitment, to defend South Korea through a robust combined defensive posture and through extended deterrence, including the U.S. nuclear umbrella, conventional strike and missile defense capabilities," Kerry said during a joint news conference with Yun.
"Let me be clear. Any attack on the United States or its allies will be defeated and any use of nuclear weapons will be met with an effective and overwhelming response. To that end, I'm pleased that we agreed to establish this dialogue on extended deterrence," he said.
Kerry said the vice-minister-level dialogue will comprise of the foreign and defense ministries of the two countries.
"This step we're taking on extended deterrence is further evidence of our readiness, our resolve and our determination across governments to protect ourselves from threats from North Korea," Kerry said.
He also said North Korea should be a key focus of the next administration.
According to the joint statement issued after the talks, the secretaries and ministers also agreed to take appropriate measures to ensure the process for the deployment of a Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) battery continues to move forward without delay.
The allies announced in July that the battery will be deployed here by the end of next year as an effective and necessary measure of self-defense against the North's evolving missile threats.
Meanwhile, Yun downplayed calls from some politicians here for the nation to be armed with nuclear weapons, saying that South Korea is a member of the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) that the government ratified in 1975 and has remained formally committed to since then.
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