ID :
208745
Thu, 09/22/2011 - 04:00
Auther :
Shortlink :
https://oananews.org//node/208745
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S. Korea, U.S. discuss deterrence against N. Korean threats
SEOUL, Sept. 22 (Yonhap) -- South Korea and the United States on Thursday opened their two-day talks on ways to deter North Korean provocations and their joint response, the defense ministry here said.
The 29th Security Policy Initiative (SPI) forum in Seoul focused on pending regional security issues, the ministry said in a statement.
"At this meeting, South Korea and the U.S. discussed ways to deter North Korean provocations and to cooperate with each other as allies in response to such provocations," the statement said. "Also on the agenda were the relocation of the U.S. forces in South Korea among other regional security issues and bolstering global security cooperation."
South Korean Deputy Defense Minister Lim Kwan-bin and his U.S. counterpart Michael Schiffer, deputy assistant secretary of defense for East Asia, headed their respective delegations.
South Korea and the U.S. have held SPI talks regularly since 2005, alternating between Seoul and Washington, to discuss a wide range of military and defense issues. About 28,500 American troops are stationed in South Korea to help defend the South against North Korea.
The ministry said that on the sidelines of the SPI meeting, the second meeting of the Extended Deterrence Policy Committee was also held.
During the committee meeting, the two sides reviewed the threats of North Korean weapons of mass destruction (WMD), and discussed how to deter such threats.
The committee was launched in December last year, two months after the two allies, during their annual defense ministers' talks, agreed to form a body to make decisions about their nuclear policy and to step up their deterrence against North Korean threats.
The term "extended deterrence" is political jargon referring to a pledge by a nuclear power to protect an ally with no atomic weapons. In case of Seoul and Washington, that means the U.S. provides tactical and strategic nuclear weapons, and conventional striking and missile defense capabilities to defend South Korea in case of an attack from North Korea.
It is the first time for the U.S. to create such a committee with a non-NATO ally.
During the SPI talks, the two sides also held their third meeting on the transfer of wartime operational control of South Korean troops from the U.S. to the South in 2015. The working groups of the plan dubbed the Strategic Alliance 2015 will review the implementation of tasks designed to ensure the smooth transfer of the wartime control, the ministry said.
The 29th Security Policy Initiative (SPI) forum in Seoul focused on pending regional security issues, the ministry said in a statement.
"At this meeting, South Korea and the U.S. discussed ways to deter North Korean provocations and to cooperate with each other as allies in response to such provocations," the statement said. "Also on the agenda were the relocation of the U.S. forces in South Korea among other regional security issues and bolstering global security cooperation."
South Korean Deputy Defense Minister Lim Kwan-bin and his U.S. counterpart Michael Schiffer, deputy assistant secretary of defense for East Asia, headed their respective delegations.
South Korea and the U.S. have held SPI talks regularly since 2005, alternating between Seoul and Washington, to discuss a wide range of military and defense issues. About 28,500 American troops are stationed in South Korea to help defend the South against North Korea.
The ministry said that on the sidelines of the SPI meeting, the second meeting of the Extended Deterrence Policy Committee was also held.
During the committee meeting, the two sides reviewed the threats of North Korean weapons of mass destruction (WMD), and discussed how to deter such threats.
The committee was launched in December last year, two months after the two allies, during their annual defense ministers' talks, agreed to form a body to make decisions about their nuclear policy and to step up their deterrence against North Korean threats.
The term "extended deterrence" is political jargon referring to a pledge by a nuclear power to protect an ally with no atomic weapons. In case of Seoul and Washington, that means the U.S. provides tactical and strategic nuclear weapons, and conventional striking and missile defense capabilities to defend South Korea in case of an attack from North Korea.
It is the first time for the U.S. to create such a committee with a non-NATO ally.
During the SPI talks, the two sides also held their third meeting on the transfer of wartime operational control of South Korean troops from the U.S. to the South in 2015. The working groups of the plan dubbed the Strategic Alliance 2015 will review the implementation of tasks designed to ensure the smooth transfer of the wartime control, the ministry said.
