By Jun Ji-hye
The government’s hasty announcement of the possibility for the permanent deployment of U.S. strategic weapons to South Korea last week has exposed disharmony between defense and foreign ministries.
Even after the government consequently failed to obtain mutual agreement from the United States to deploy strategic assets such as nuclear-capable bombers, the two ministries have been shifting the responsibility to each other.
During the annual Security Consultative Meeting (SCM) between Defense Minister Han Min-koo and U.S. Defense Secretary Ash Carter at the Pentagon, Oct. 20, the two sides agreed to “conduct a review” of whether to deploy strategic assets to the South on a rotational basis. This was against expectations here that the two countries would actually announce a deployment decision following the meeting.
It was Foreign Minister Yun Byung-se who first revealed such expectations. He told reporters after the “two plus two” security talks between the top defense and foreign officials from the two nations, Oct. 19, that Han and Carter were going to discuss details about how to deploy U.S. strategic assets in South Korea during the SCM.
After Yun’s comments, a high-level official from the defense ministry explained that the allies would agree on the deployment as a means to strengthen the U.S. “extended deterrence” protection of South Korea against nuclear and missile threats from North Korea.
But the joint statement of the SCM excluded the decision for the deployment, only stating that the two nations will conduct additional discussions in the future.
Sources noted that Yun’s comment was an unexpected announcement for the defense ministry as its officials intended to announce it after a mutual agreement was reached, mindful of the fact that whether to deploy strategic assets to the peninsula was one of the most sensitive issues in the Northeast Asian region.
Consequently, the defense ministry was embarrassed due to the failed agreement. According to sources, working-level officials from the two countries had almost reached a mutual agreement, but Carter reportedly backed out at the last minute.
Sources also noted that defense ministry officials complained of Yun’s hasty announcement, claiming that the foreign ministry only intended to receive media attention, while foreign ministry officials argued whether or not to deploy military assets to the peninsula was beyond its responsibility.
In 2012, the two ministries also exposed their disharmony and attitude to shirk their responsibilities when the government failed to sign the General Security of Military Information Agreement (GSOMIA) with Japan.
Seoul and Tokyo’s plan to sign the GSOMIA, aimed at sharing classified military intelligence, was scrapped following protests from South Korean politicians and civic activists who insisted on first resolving unsettled historical disputes involving the Japanese military.
In response to growing controversy over the failed agreement with the U.S. for the deployment of strategic assets, defense ministry spokesman Moon Sang-gyun said Monday, “There was no difference of opinion between Seoul and Washington. The two countries shared the need to strengthen extended deterrence and will conduct additional discussions.”