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| Defense Minister Lee Jong-sup, right, and his U.S. counterpart Lloyd Austin shake hands during a joint press conference after their meeting at the Defense Ministry in Seoul, Tuesday. AP-Yonhap |
Pentagon chief assures NATO-style security guarantee amid growing skepticism over extended deterrence against North Korea
By Jung Min-ho
South Korea and the United States agreed to expand the size and content of their combined military drills on Tuesday to counter intensifying security threats from North Korea amid growing skepticism here over Washington's commitment to provide extended deterrence.
At a meeting with his South Korean counterpart Lee Jong-sup in Seoul, U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin reassured that his country's "ironclad" commitment to the Asian ally will continue to underpin their relationship.
"Our commitment to the defense of the ROK (South Korea) remains ironclad, and the United States stands firm in its extended deterrence commitment," the Pentagon chief said. "That includes the full range of U.S. defense capabilities, including our conventional, nuclear and missile defense capabilities. Now, we have 28,500 uniformed personnel in South Korea ... This shows our unwavering commitment."
Austin said the U.S.' key strategic military assets, such as advanced stealth jets and aircraft carriers, will participate in their joint drills more frequently, announcing a plan to carry out a tabletop exercise organized by the allies' Deterrence Strategy Committee in February. He added there will be major joint live-fire drills before or after South Korea's Armed Forces Day (Oct. 1).
The announcement came a day after the release of a poll, conducted by the Chey Institute for Advanced Studies, which showed more than 76 percent of South Koreans support the idea of arming the country with its own nuclear weapons ― a troubling sign of the diminishing trust among South Koreans in the U.S.' security guarantee and growing fears of Pyongyang's nuclear capabilities.
Austin said the U.S.' goal of denuclearizing the Korean Peninsula remains the same.
"The U.S. and the ROK are committed to the denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula, and we've long been that way," he said. "We want to make sure that no stone is left unturned."
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| U.S. Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin, left, and his South Korean counterpart Lee Jong-sup attend a welcome ceremony at the Defense Ministry in Seoul, Tuesday, ahead of their meeting. Joint Press Corps |
Yet he refrained from mentioning the possibility of South Korea's development of its own nuclear weapons or of the deployment of U.S. nuclear weapons in the South ― an issue that has drawn a lot of attention recently from not just the public, but also politicians here.
President Yoon Suk Yeol previously said he would not rule out the possibility of the development of South Korea's own nuclear weapons if North Korea's threats continue to increase.
Apparently aware of the skepticism that the U.S. would not take the risk of triggering a nuclear war with North Korea in the event of an armed conflict on the Korean peninsula, Austin promised to provide South Korea with a NATO-style security guarantee. He made the promise in a statement sent to Yonhap, a Korean news agency, prior to the meeting.
"If they (North Korea) challenge one of us, they are challenging the U.S.-ROK alliance as a whole," Austin said, echoing the core principle of NATO, a security alliance of 30 countries from North America and Europe. Article 5 of its treaty states that "an armed attack against one or more of them in Europe or North America shall be considered an attack against them all."
Austin said the U.S. commitment to the alliance is "what we're all about" and not "just a slogan." That commitment, he added, has never been shaken over the past 70 years.
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| President Yoon Suk Yeol, right, and U.S. Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin shake hands at the presidential office in Seoul, Tuesday. Courtesy of presidential office |
Lee agreed with Austin on scaling up the scope of their joint exercises, vowing to maintain "peace through strength."
The two sides also agreed to strengthen cooperation with Japan and take concrete steps to set up systems to share real-time information about North Korea's missile launches in accordance with a summit agreement by the three countries last November. For that, Lee and Austin agreed to hold the Defense Trilateral talks, a senior-level meeting, "at the earliest opportunity."
In a joint press release, Lee and Austin strongly condemned North Korea's provocations, including its recent drone incursions.
After the meeting, Austin met with the South Korean president, who voiced his appreciation for Washington's security support and asked for stronger and practical deterrence means that would dispel any public concerns about North Korea's threats.
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