Senior defense officials from South Korea and the United States met Tuesday for annual talks expected to center on strengthening deterrence against North Korean threats and other issues facing the two allies.
The Korea-U.S. Integrated Defense Dialogue is one of a series of defense dialogues between Seoul and Washington and involves defense and foreign affairs officials. South Korea was represented by Deputy Defense Minister Yoo Jeh-seung, while his counterpart was Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense David Helvey.
The talks, set to run through Wednesday, are expected to focus on ways to bolster joint deterrence capabilities against missile and nuclear threats from North Korea and measures to follow up on last year’s agreement to postpone the transfer of wartime operational control over South Korean forces from Washington to Seoul.
South Korea also plans to seek U.S. help over its plan to launch an association of former members of U.S. Forces Korea in an effort to honor them for their service and help enhance ties between the allies. Currently, some 28,500 soldiers are stationed in South Korea to help deter the North.
The two sides are unlikely to discuss the U.S. wish to deploy a THAAD (Terminal High Altitude Area Defense) missile interceptor battery, which has been the hottest defense issue between the two countries in recent months due to China’s outspoken opposition.
Considering its sensitivity, Seoul and Washington have said that there have been no formal consultations or decision on the issue. U.S. Defense Secretary Ashton Carter also said in Seoul last week that the U.S. is not ready to begin discussions on the issue.
Other topics that could be discussed in this week’s KIDD meeting include the envisioned revision to the U.S.-Japan defense cooperation guidelines, which is expected to include Japan’s decision to exercise its perceived right to collective self-defense. Japan’s post-war constitution specifies that its forces are purely defensive.
South Korea has concerns about the possibility of Japan sending forces to the Korean Peninsula in the name of aiding the U.S. under collective self-defense in the event of a conflict with North Korea.
Seoul has demanded Japan win explicit consent from Seoul if it wants to respond to contingencies on the peninsula. Japanese boots on the peninsula are one of the last things South Koreans want to see due to painful memories of Japan’s colonial rule of Korea from 1910 to 1945.
The defense guidelines revision is also expected to be a topic for defense talks between South Korea, the U.S. and Japan. Deputy minister-level officials will attend the Defense Trilateral Talks set for Thursday and Friday. (Yonhap)
