JCS chief grilled over trilateral drills involving Japan, rising tensions

Kim Seung-kyum, chief of the Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS), speaks during the parliamentary inspection at JCS headquarters in Seoul, Thursday. Newsis

Pyongyang launches more missiles as Seoul, Washington plan more drills

By Jung Min-ho

South Korea's top military officer vowed to sharpen capabilities to respond to and deter North Korea's evolving missile and nuclear threats, Thursday, during the National Assembly audit in which he was criticized over combined drills involving Japan and the rising tensions on the Korean Peninsula.

Earlier that day, North Korea fired two short-range ballistic missiles toward the East Sea in its latest provocation, which prompted South Korea, the United States and Japan to begin another round of trilateral joint exercises in the waters east of the peninsula.

Kim Seung-kyum, chief of the Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS), said a concerted effort with the U.S. military and practical training for improving execution capabilities, in case of conflict, are the keys to achieving that objective.

"Above all, our military is focusing on strengthening capabilities to respond to North Korea's missile and nuclear threats. To develop the three-pillar system and execution ability under the U.S. extended deterrence strategy, the two allies are working together," Kim said during the inspection at the JCS headquarters in Seoul. "Based on that close cooperation, the two countries have been concentrating on sharpening their capability to plan and conduct joint operations."

The three pillars are the Kill Chain preemptive strike system in case of imminent threat, the Korean Air and Missile Defense (KAMD) and the Korea Massive Punishment and Retaliation (KMPR) plan.

Pyongyang's first missile flew more than 350 kilometers and reached a maximum altitude of 80 kilometers. The second one flew around 800 kilometers on an apogee of 60 kilometers.

At Seoul Station in central Seoul, people listen to the news report about North Korea's missile test, Thursday. Yonhap

The test comes just two days after its intermediate-range ballistic missile launch over Japan and marked the North's sixth missile test in under two weeks, defying and protesting South Korea and the U.S.' combined naval drills involving the USS Ronald Reagan, a nuclear-powered aircraft carrier. The Nimitz-class supercarrier returned to waters near the Korean Peninsula after it departed last week after the exercise with the South Korean Navy and then trilateral anti-submarine warfare drills involving Japan.

During the Assembly audit, opposition lawmakers criticized the Yoon Suk-yeol administration and the military for escalating tensions with an unnecessarily aggressive response to the North's weapons tests and conducting naval exercises with Japan, which claims South Korea's easternmost islets of Dokdo as its territory.

Rep. Lee Jae-myung, chairman of the main opposition Democratic Party of Korea, asks questions to Kim Seung-kyum, chief of the Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS), at JCS headquarters in Seoul, Thursday. Yonhap

Rep. Lee Jae-myung, chairman of the main opposition Democratic Party of Korea (DPK) and former presidential candidate, criticized the military for the trilateral drills in the waters near Dokdo, saying it could give Japan room for interpretation that South Korea accepts the Japan Self-Defense Forces as its official military, which Japan is not legally permitted to have. Then he argued that South Korea's southern waters would have been and will be a better choice.

Lee also expressed worries over the possibility that such exercises might lead to a trilateral military alliance, an idea that is politically sensitive and unpopular in South Korea due to the memories of Japan's colonial rule (1910-45).

"Where the exercise was conducted was 120 kilometers away from Japan's main island and 185 kilometers away from Dokdo," Kim said. "North Korean submarines are most active in South Korea's eastern waters. That's why we chose there instead of the southern waters.

"I understand there are historical issues that need to be resolved with Japan and different opinions over how to do so … We are just in the process of finding the most effective way to respond to North Korea's nuclear and missile threats."

Opposition lawmakers also lashed out at him over a failed missile launch conducted in response to North Korea's recent aggression.

"It was an abject failure. The (Hyunmoo-2C) missile was dropped on the heads of the people in South Korea. It became a laughing stock to North Korea … Many residents in Gangneung were shaking with anxiety, thinking that a war was happening," Rep. Kim Byung-joo.

The JCS chief apologized for the incident, saying the military did not immediately inform the residents about the security issues.

Rep. Sul Hoon expressed concerns over rising tensions between the rival Koreas, saying the military's aggressive response to North Korea's provocation would only worsen the situation.

In this photo provided by the South Korea Defense Ministry, South Korean Air Force's F15K fighter jets and U.S. Air Force's F-16 fighter jets fly in formation during a joint drill in an undisclosed location in South Korea, Tuesday. Yonhap

Rep. Han Ki-ho of the ruling People Power Party said that South Korea may have to develop new military strategies, given North Korea's evolving nuclear ability which is believed now to have the potential to strike the U.S. mainland with its long-range missiles. Deterrence with conventional weapons, he added, would no longer work.

So far this year, North Korea has fired nearly 40 ballistic missiles on over 20 different launch tests. On Thursday, however, it blamed Washington for conducting military exercises with South Korea, saying it "poses a serious threat to the stability of the Korean Peninsula."