North Korea's Nuclear Use Scenario Reflected in South Korea-U.S. Combined Forces Operation Plan

South Korea and the United States have decided to begin work to reflect North Korea's nuclear use in their operational plans as North Korea's nuclear threat to the South becomes obvious.

Defense Secretary Kim Yong-hyun and U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin held the 56th Korea-U.S. Security Consultative Meeting, SCM, at the U.S. Department of Defense near Washington, D.C. on the 30th local time.

"Future joint exercises have decided to include realistic scenarios, including a response to North Korea's nuclear use," the two ministers said in a joint statement.

Although not explicitly mentioned, this is interpreted to reflect the situation of North Korea's nuclear use in the operation plan.

Until now, the basic stance has been to respond based on extended U.S. deterrence even if there is a nuclear threat.

However, the situation has changed as North Korea began to make explicit threats in the way that it could use nuclear weapons for a preemptive attack, a government official said.

As South Korea and the U.S. did not specify the timing in the SCM joint statement and said, "Future," it is expected that the operation plan of the North Korean nuclear use situation will be reflected for a long time.

First of all, an official from the Ministry of National Defense explained that the first step will be to draft the concept of nuclear and conventional integration at the 4th Nuclear Consultation Group, NCG meeting in December, and then conduct CNI iconography exercises together during the joint exercise of the "Uji Freedom Shield" in August next year.

It's in a state.

In the 2021 SCM joint statement, South Korea and the U.S. agreed to "update the operation plan" following the advancement of North Korea's nuclear and missile capabilities, and considering that North Korea's current provocation capabilities are greater, it is expected that there will be a greater change in the operation plan than three years ago.