U.S., South Korea Discuss Ways to Deter North’s Provocations

American Forces Press Service

WASHINGTON, April 17, 2014 – The United States and South Korea have agreed to bolster efforts to deter North Korean provocations that undermine regional stability, according to a statement released after two days of talks between U.S. and South Korean defense officials in Washington.

The joint statement, issued by the Defense Department, said “The two sides reaffirmed the shared view that recent North Korean provocations, including recent missile launches, artillery fire in the Yellow Sea, the infiltration of small unmanned aerial vehicles, and the looming threat of a fourth nuclear test undermine stability of the Korean Peninsula and the region. The two sides also addressed ways to strengthen coordinated actions and the importance of continued close collaboration within the alliance to enable better deterrence of and response to North Korean provocations.

“The two sides discussed ways to strengthen the combined defense posture to defend the Republic of Korea and to deter North Korean aggression by enhancing combined Alliance capabilities, and continuing combined exercises. The ROK and U.S. also discussed the ROK proposed conditions-based approach to wartime OPCON transition. The ROK and the U.S. will continue cooperating to develop the future command structure, combined operational plans, ROK critical military capabilities, and U.S. bridging and enduring capabilities. The ROK and U.S. welcome the ROK National Assembly's ratification of a new special measures agreement (SMA) providing for ROK cost-sharing support to offset costs associated with stationing U.S. forces on the Korean Peninsula. The 2014-2018 agreement will provide for continued ROK support in logistics, labor, and construction and will help ensure that we have the resources necessary for the combined defense of the Korean Peninsula. The two sides also addressed various areas of alliance cooperation, including regional and global cooperation, and efforts to counter weapons of mass destruction and interdiction, command, control, communications, computers, and intelligence interoperability, and cyber and space cooperation.

“The U.S. reaffirmed the continued U.S. commitment to provide and strengthen extended deterrence for the ROK using the full range of military capabilities, including the U.S. nuclear umbrella, conventional strike, and missile defense capabilities. The two countries discussed implementation of the tailored deterrence strategy to include combined exercises to ensure that deterrence and extended deterrence remains credible, capable, and enduring. Both sides also discussed efforts to counter North Korean missile threats, including the continued combined development of comprehensive counter-missile capabilities to detect, defend against, disrupt, and destroy North Korean missile threats, in particular strengthened missile defense interoperability, including the ROK "Kill Chain" and Korean air and missile defense systems.

“Both sides affirmed that discussions during the 5th KIDD session contributed substantively to strengthening the ROK-U.S. alliance and further enhanced the bilateral defense relationship into a comprehensive strategic alliance. The ROK and U.S. expect to hold the 6th KIDD in Seoul in July 2014.”