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| President Yoon Suk-yeol and U.S. President Joe Biden pose alongside senior military officers from both countries during their visit to the Korean Air and Space Operations Center at Osan Air Base in Pyeongtaek, Gyeonggi Province, May 22. |
By Kang Seung-woo
South Korea and the United States are discussing holding senior-level defense talks, next month, according to the defense ministry, Monday, during which the allies are expected to discuss how to strengthen extended deterrence against North Korea's growing threats.
"The two countries are in talks over holding the Korea-U.S. Integrated Defense Dialogue (KIDD) in Washington, D.C.," Army Col. Moon Hong-sik, the ministry's deputy spokesperson, said during a press conference without elaborating on the meeting's date or specific agenda.
KIDD is an umbrella framework encompassing various defense dialogue mechanisms between the two countries. It was launched in 2011 out of the Security Consultative Meeting and since then, the meeting has been held twice a year. It was supposed to take place in May, but the absence of a South Korean official to be in charge of the meeting has pushed it back to July.
The envisaged meeting comes as tensions have been running high on the Korean Peninsula due to concerns over North Korea's possible nuclear test, according to South Korean and U.S. intelligence authorities.
In addition, if fixed, the meeting will be held on the heels of the May 21 summit between President Yoon Suk-yeol and U.S. President Joe Biden, in which the two heads of state agreed on extended deterrence so as to deter North Korea's escalating missile and nuclear threats.
The defense ministry did not give details about the KIDD meeting or how to improve extended deterrence, however, the combined defense posture is likely to be high on the agenda.
Foreign Minister Park Jin and U.S. State Secretary Antony Blinken have agreed to reactivate regular meetings of the Extended Deterrence Strategy and Consultation Group (EDSCG), a high-level consultative mechanism to achieve North Korea's denuclearization through steadfast deterrence. The defense ministers of the two countries have also agreed to dispatch strategic assets to the peninsula in the event of a nuclear test by Pyongyang. Strategic assets refer to long-range bombers, nuclear-powered submarines or aircraft carriers.
The allies are also expected to discuss expanding combined military drills, which had been scaled back under the administrations of President Moon Jae-in and U.S. President Donald Trump.
Additionally, how to normalize the operation of the U.S. THAAD missile defense unit here, which has had the status of a "temporary installation," pending an environmental impact assessment, is likely to be discussed.
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