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South Korea's Indo-Pacific Role Under Discussion in US Trade Talks
South Korea's Indo-Pacific Role Under Discussion in US Trade Talks

The Diplomat

time2 days ago

  • Business
  • The Diplomat

South Korea's Indo-Pacific Role Under Discussion in US Trade Talks

U.S. Army Command Sgt. Maj. Jack Love, U.S. Forces Korea Senior Enlisted Advisor (right), along with U.S and ROK senior leaders pose inside an AAVP-7A1 Amphibious Assault Vehicle during the Ulchi Freedom Shield Battlefield Circulation, Aug. 22, 2024. Last week, Chosun Ilbo reported that the United States had formally asked South Korea to broaden the scope of the United States-Republic of Korea (ROK) Mutual Defense Treaty's Article III to cover the wider Indo-Pacific region. Today, Hankook Ilbo reported that the push to expand the role of U.S. Forces Korea (USFK) across the Indo-Pacific under the so-called 'alliance modernization' framework is now a part of the bilateral tariff talks between the two countries. The request to reframe the South Korea-U.S. alliance as a 'comprehensive strategic partnership for the future' was made by U.S. Deputy Secretary of State Christopher Landau in Tokyo on July 18. This would presumably include a role for South Korea in a China-U.S. conflict, such as a crisis in the Taiwan Strait. Landau also raised issues such as increasing South Korean defense spending (reportedly from 2.3 percent of GDP to 5 percent of GDP) and greater cost-sharing for deployment of U.S. strategic assets in the region. These discussions echo meetings that U.S. Deputy Assistant Secretary of State Kevin Kim held in Seoul on July 10-11. Such developments align with the Pentagon's Interim National Defense Strategic Guidance from March, and what is expected from the full National Defense Strategy (NDS) and Global Posture Review (GPR) later this year: an assertion that deterring a Chinese invasion of Taiwan is the United States' top priority. The United States has also pressed Japan and Australia for clarity on what they would do in a Taiwan Strait contingency and clarified with the Philippines that their mutual defense pact 'extends to armed attacks on our armed forces, aircraft or public vessels, including our Coast Guard, anywhere in the Pacific, including the South China Sea.' While all countries prefer to maintain strategic ambiguity over Taiwan to not upset China (South Korean President Lee Jae-myung has previously expressed reluctance to involve South Korea in a Taiwan-related security issue), South Korea is different from Japan and Australia. South Korea faces a direct threat from a different source: North Korea. For Seoul, USFK has always been about addressing the threat from North Korea. Thus, South Korea has been reluctant to embrace the 'one theater' concept that Japan champions, which integrates the Korean Peninsula with the East and South China Seas. The United States, Australia, and the Philippines reportedly support this concept, while South Korea understands the risk that such a structure could take away U.S. resources from deterring and if needed, defeating North Korea. However, with the deadline for trade talks looming on August 1, South Korea has sought trade concessions, including on tariffs and non-trade barriers, in return for accepting the U.S. request to recalibrate the USFK's strategic posture. Alliance modernization is a broader issue that also encompasses increased defense spending and expanded cooperation in the defense industry; the topic cannot be fully settled in the current round of trade talks. Still, a senior official from South Korea stated, 'We're asking the U.S. to show flexibility in trade in proportion to our security contributions.' The purpose of the South Korea-U.S. alliance in an era of increasing China-U.S. competition has already been under debate, and the ongoing deliberations will affect topics such as wartime operational control and extended nuclear deterrence. Throughout this, it is important not to antagonize China. It is also vital for U.S. officials to '[bring] South Korea into the process early and often' to not politicize the changes. As the deadline for the trade talks fast approaches, it will be interesting to see whether tying economics and security will make it easier or more difficult for Lee to sell the changes in the nature of the alliance to the South Korean public. Lee's success will, of course, hinge on the U.S. reception of the South Korean overture.

USFK says decisions regarding joint drills will be made via 'established consultation'
USFK says decisions regarding joint drills will be made via 'established consultation'

Korea Herald

time3 days ago

  • Politics
  • Korea Herald

USFK says decisions regarding joint drills will be made via 'established consultation'

U.S. Forces Korea (USFK) said Monday that decisions regarding potential changes in combined South Korea-U.S. drills "will be made through established consultation processes," after Seoul's unification minister said he will propose adjusting such drills to President Lee Jae Myung. Unification Minister Chung Dong-young made the remarks earlier in the day, hours after Pyongyang denounced the Lee administration of "blindly adhering" to the South Korea-U.S. alliance, declaring it will never engage in talks with Seoul. "As always, any decisions regarding alliance training and exercises will be made through established consultation processes," the USFK said in a statement. While noting that the USFK is "aware" of Chung's remarks, the armed service said it has yet to receive details of his proposal from the South Korean government. Chung's remarks came as South Korea and the U.S. are set to kick off their annual large-scale Ulchi Freedom Shield exercise next month. North Korea has long denounced the allies' joint military drills as rehearsals for an invasion and uses them as a pretext for provocations. South Korea and the U.S. have said their exercises are defensive in nature. Seoul's defense ministry reiterated that the allies have conducted regular joint drills to maintain their combined defense posture, saying there are "no changes so far" regarding the upcoming exercise. (Yonhap)

Trump wants a 'one-stop shopping' deal with South Korea on trade and defense, but there is a cost
Trump wants a 'one-stop shopping' deal with South Korea on trade and defense, but there is a cost

CNBC

time19-05-2025

  • Business
  • CNBC

Trump wants a 'one-stop shopping' deal with South Korea on trade and defense, but there is a cost

Sharing the costs of hosting U.S. troops in allied countries has been a favorite topic of U.S. President Donald Trump since his first term in the White House. But as more countries try to eke out a deal to escape the spectre of tariffs in his second term, Trump is making his own moves: bundling negotiations on trade, tariffs, and defense cost-sharing into a single comprehensive deal, which he called "one-stop shopping." One such country in his sights is South Korea, which is home to about 28,500 U.S. troops known as U.S. Forces Korea. On April 8, Trump wrote on Truth Social that he had discussed "payment for the big time Military Protection we provide to South Korea," among other issues, with then-acting president Han Duck-soo. "We are bringing up other subjects that are not covered by Trade and Tariffs, and getting them negotiated also. "ONE STOP SHOPPING" is a beautiful and efficient process!!!" Trump wrote. While South Korean officials have reportedly said that defense payments are off the table, the country's two leading presidential candidates, Lee Jae-myung and Kim Moon-soo, have hinted that they are open to discussing a defense cost-sharing agreement. However, analysts told CNBC that a transactional approach wouldn't necessarily work in the U.S.'s favor. At the Munich Security Conference in February, then-Singapore Defence Minister Ng Eng Hen said, "It has been said that trade and security are two sides of the same coin, and one assumes that as trade dependencies shift, security alliances will follow." But, the image of the U.S. in Asia, Ng said, "has changed from liberator to great disruptor to a landlord seeking rent." The U.S. president is likely to bring defense payments up in trade talks, Bruce Bennett, Professor of Policy Analysis at the RAND School of Public Policy, told CNBC. "It's the way he does business," Bennett said. "So it's not like he definitely wants to bring troops home, but it is a matter that he wants the recognition and the acceptance of responsibility from our allies," he added. This was the stance espoused by U.S. Under Secretary of Defense Elbridge Colby, who said in a 2024 interview that U.S. Forces Korea should be overhauled to be "more relevant" to handling China, as opposed to North Korea. One way South Korea could "pay more" is by investing in its forces and buying more U.S. military equipment, Bennett said. This will enable the South Korean military to plug any capability gaps while allowing U.S. Forces Korea to focus more on China, he added. "[If] the Korean government says we're volunteering to ...raise our budget by $3 or $4 billion, we're going to use it to buy equipment so that the U.S. can have a shift in focus, I think that would go a long way to meeting the President's interests." South Korea spent 2.6% of its GDP on defense in 2024, more than the global average of 2.5%, and one of the highest in the world, according to the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute. In 2025, the country allocated 61.25 trillion South Korean won ($43.83 billion) for defense, or a 3.1% increase from the year before. However, such a transactional approach will damage U.S. credibility, Hoshik Nam, assistant professor at the Department of Sociology and Political Science at Jacksonville State University, said. Using the deployment of U.S. forces as leverage in trade negotiations could lead close allies to perceive U.S. commitments as less credible, Nam added. "In the long term, this position could reframe the U.S. as an isolated superpower." South Korea wasn't required to make any financial contribution in its original 1966 agreement with the U.S on troops stationed in the country, known as the Status of Forces Agreement. Cost sharing only became a feature of the alliance in 1991, when Seoul agreed to share some of the burden of stationing U.S. troops in three areas, namely logistics, local labor, and military construction. Nam explained that South Korea's rapid economic growth from the 1960s created the conditions for cost-sharing. "Both countries also agreed that their relationship should move beyond a simple aid-provider and recipient dynamic," he noted. The funds provided by the South Korean government also created local jobs and helped local industries, Nam said. "Regarding construction, most projects are carried out by Korean construction companies. In terms of logistics, the equipment, services, and facilities are all supplied by Korean companies," Nam highlighted. In October 2024, Seoul agreed to raise its contribution for hosting U.S. troops by 8.3% in 2026, to 1.52 trillion won ($1.13 billion). However, Trump's 'one stop shopping' stance to bundle trade with defense agreements could throw the latest cost-sharing agreement by the Biden administration into jeopardy, given that the 2024 agreement covers the period of 2026-2030.

US Prepares South Korea To Face Nuclear Attack by North
US Prepares South Korea To Face Nuclear Attack by North

Newsweek

time24-04-2025

  • Politics
  • Newsweek

US Prepares South Korea To Face Nuclear Attack by North

Based on facts, either observed and verified firsthand by the reporter, or reported and verified from knowledgeable sources. Newsweek AI is in beta. Translations may contain inaccuracies—please refer to the original content. The United States has recently provided military training to South Korea, its treaty ally in Northeast Asia, for operating under a nuclear attack that might be launched by North Korea. Newsweek has reached out to the North Korean Embassy in China for comment by email. Why It Matters North Korea is one of the nine countries armed with nuclear weapons. Its leader, Kim Jong Un, has pledged to keep the country's nuclear arsenal, which is estimated to have around 50 warheads, to strengthen deterrents against the U.S. and its South Korean and Japanese allies. This photo provided by the North Korean government shows what it says is a test launch of new intercontinental ballistic missile Hwasong-19 on October 31, 2024, at an undisclosed site in North Korea. This photo provided by the North Korean government shows what it says is a test launch of new intercontinental ballistic missile Hwasong-19 on October 31, 2024, at an undisclosed site in North Korea. KCNA via AP Facing North Korea's nuclear threats, the U.S. has been rotating its military assets, including aircraft carriers, heavy bombers, and nuclear-armed submarines, to the Korean Peninsula as a show of force while pursuing the goal of the "complete denuclearization of North Korea." What To Know From April 15 to 16, the U.S. Army Nuclear and Countering Weapons of Mass Destruction Agency, which provides nuclear and countering weapons of mass destruction expertise and analysis, conducted the first training course in South Korea, the U.S. Forces Korea revealed. The training, formally known as the Nuclear Weapon Effects Course-Korea, took place at a South Korean Strategic Command facility in Seoul. The command was launched in October 2024 to counter nuclear and weapons of mass destruction threats posed by North Korea. The course aimed at equipping participants with "knowledge and skills necessary to operate effectively in and through a nuclear environment," the U.S. Forces Korea said in the press release on Tuesday, which can strengthen deterrence against "nuclear-armed adversaries." The Korean Service Corps 22nd Company conducts its annual Chemical, Biological, Radiological, Nuclear, and Explosives (CBRNE) training at Camp Humphreys in South Korea on April 7, 2025. The Korean Service Corps 22nd Company conducts its annual Chemical, Biological, Radiological, Nuclear, and Explosives (CBRNE) training at Camp Humphreys in South Korea on April 7, 2025. Spc. Caelum Astra/U.S. Army A total of eight South Korean members, assigned to the Strategic Command and the Defense Ministry, took part in the training, as well as five people sent by the U.S.-South Korea joint warfighting headquarters, the Combined Forces Command, according to the press release. South Korean admiral Kim Myung Soo, who serves as the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff as the country's top military officer, on Thursday visited a bunker buster missile unit, which operates the domestically developed Korean Tactical Surface to Surface Missile. During the visit, the admiral urged for what he called "overwhelming capabilities" to deter potential provocations from North Korea, the South Korean Joint Chiefs of Staff reported. What People Are Saying The U.S. Forces Korea said: "The training content is also directly applicable to Alliance tabletop exercises and wargames focused on conventional-nuclear integration, and enhancing the combined joint force's strategic understanding." U.S. Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard said: "North Korean leader Kim Jong Un is pursuing stronger, strategic, and conventional capabilities that can target U.S. forces and allies in the region, as well as the U.S. homeland, to bolster North Korea's leverage and stature, defend its regime, and achieve at least tacit recognition as a nuclear weapons power." What Happens Next It remains to be seen when North Korea will carry out a new round of provocations, such as launching ballistic missiles, as the U.S. is enhancing its military presence in Northeast Asia.

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