The Korea Times:
South Korea’s foreign and defense ministers arrived in Washington on Tuesday for security and alliance talks with their U.S. counterparts that are expected to focus on how to counter ever-growing nuclear and missile threats from North Korea.
Foreign Minister Yun Byung-se and Defense Minister Han Min-koo will join U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry and Defense Secretary Ash Carter in Wednesday’s “two plus two” talks, a biennial gathering designed mainly to demonstrate the firmness of the alliance and discuss strategies to deal with the North.
The meeting comes just a few days after the communist nation carried out a banned test Saturday of a Musudan intermediate-range ballistic missile, believed to be capable of reaching the U.S. territory of Guam, about a month after its fifth nuclear test.
The test was unsuccessful as the missile exploded shortly after take-off, but the launch still showed how committed the North is to developing nuclear-armed, long-range missiles. Officials and experts have warned Pyongyang could keep conducting nuclear and missile tests in coming months.
Wednesday’s talks are expected to focus on ways to strengthen the U.S. “extended deterrence” protection of South Korea and to ramp up pressure and sanctions on Pyongyang.
“Extended deterrence” refers to the threat of nuclear retaliation to deter attacks on allies. The U.S. has provided extended deterrence or a “nuclear umbrella” to South Korea after withdrawing nuclear warheads from the country in the early 1990s.
“The ministers will explore opportunities to further coordinate our response to the growing threat posed by the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea in the wake of its September 9 nuclear test and discuss ways to strengthen the U.S.-ROK Alliance, including through extended deterrence,” the State Department said last week.
On Thursday, the two sides are scheduled to hold annual defense ministers talks, known as the Security Consultative Meeting (SCM), where Han and Carter are expected to discuss detailed “extended deterrence” measures, possibly including permanently deploying U.S. “strategic assets” in the South, such as nuclear-capable B-52 and B-1B bombers, F-22 stealth fighter jets and nuclear-powered submarines.
The U.S. has temporarily sent such assets to South Korea as a show of force in the wake of the North’s two nuclear tests in January and September, but perceptions have grown among South Koreans that such one-off missions are not enough at a time of unprecedented threats from the North.
