Top brass commit to extended deterrence in Washington

Defense

Published: 20 Oct. 2022, 17:50 Updated: 25 Oct. 2022, 01:31

Top brass commit to extended deterrence in Washington

Four U.S. B-1B stealth bombers, such as the one shown in this June 12 photograph from the U.S. Air Force, have been deployed to Anderson Air Base in the U.S. territory of Guam amid escalating tensions on the Korean Peninsula. [UNITED STATES AIR FORCE]

The United States reaffirmed its commitment to the defense of South Korea, and the protection offered by its nuclear umbrella, at a meeting of the countries' top military brass in Washington.

South Korean Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) Chairman Kim Seung-kyum and U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Mark A. Milley held the 47th Korea-U.S. Military Commission Meeting (MCM) on Wednesday at the Pentagon, where the two military chiefs reaffirmed the strength of the South Korea-U.S. alliance and discussed the security situation on the Korean Peninsula.

According to South Korea’s JCS Thursday, Kim and Milley discussed several alliance issues including the conditional transfer of wartime operational control (Opcon) from the United States to South Korea.

The allies shared opinions on recent North Korean actions that have ratcheted up tensions on the Peninsula, such as its recent announcement that it could use nuclear weapons first if its perceives an existential threat to the regime’s survival, a salvo of missile launches and its artillery firing drills.

The talks came at a time that some South Korean politicians are calling for the redeployment of U.S. tactical nuclear weapons to the Korean Peninsula or even the domestic development of such weapons.

South Korea’s JCS said that Milley reiterated the U.S. commitment to South Korea’s security, including extended deterrence.

Also in attendance at the MCM meeting were U.S. Indo-Pacific Command chief John Aquilino and Commander Paul LaCamera of the South Korea-U.S. Combined Forces Command (CFC) and United States Forces Korea (USFK).

Their meeting coincided with confirmation from the U.S. Strategic Command that it has deployed four B-1B strategic bombers to Guam.

According to the aircraft tracking site “Aircraft Spots” on Wednesday, two U.S. Air Force B-1B stealth bombers left a U.S. Air Force base in South Dakota and arrived at Anderson Air Force Base in the U.S. territory of Guam.

Aircraft Spots noted the previous day that two other B-1B bombers arrived in Guam, bringing the total number of B-1B bombers stationed in Guam to four.

When asked by Radio Free Asia (RFA) about the reason for the presence of the four B-1B strategic bombers in Guam, the U.S. Strategic Command responded that its units “regularly conduct training, including Bomber Task Force missions, with and in support of the Geographic Combatant Commands,” adding that “these missions help maintain global stability and security while enabling our units to become familiar with operations in different regions.”

The U.S. Strategic Command said that a large-scale combined air force exercise between the South Korean Air Force and the U.S. Air Force is scheduled to take place from Oct. 31 to Nov. 1.

North Korea has justified its recent slew of missile tests and artillery barrages by pointing to joint exercises between the South Korean and U.S. militaries, which it has continuously characterized as rehearsals for an invasion.

BY MICHAEL LEE [lee.junhyuk@joongang.co.kr]