Defense Minister Shin Won-sik (R) and U.S. Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin shakes hands ahead of the 55th Security Consultative Meeting held at the defense ministry’s headquarters in Seoul on Nov. 13, 2023, in this photo provided by the ministry. (Image courtesy of Yonhap)
WASHINGTON, Nov. 16 (Korea Bizwire) — A U.S. defense official said Thursday that this week’s annual defense ministerial talks between South Korea and the United States centered on “tailored” deterrence efforts to address regional threats.
Mara Karlin, who performs the duties of deputy undersecretary of defense for policy, commented on the Security Consultative Meeting (SCM) that took place in Seoul on Monday. Defense Minister Shin Won-sik and U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin led the talks.
“This one, in particular, did focus on the importance of extended deterrence, making sure that that is tailored,” she said in a press briefing, noting that the talks dealt with “regional threats” facing South Korea and the U.S.
Extended deterrence refers to America’s commitment to using the full range of its military capabilities, including nuclear, to defend its ally.
At the latest SCM session, Shin and Austin endorsed the 2023 Tailored Deterrence Strategy in the first revision to the allies’ key security document in 10 years.
In the joint SCM communique, the two sides cast the updated strategy as a “flexible and robust document” that serves as a strategic framework to effectively deter and respond to advancing North Korean nuclear and other weapons of mass destruction capabilities.
Karlin said that the SCM session “builds on” the landmark trilateral summit between South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol, U.S. President Joe Biden and Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida at Camp David in August.
“Another important example of how we are seeing different groupings, different geometries of our allies and our partners across the Indo-Pacific really concurring with the need for security and regional stability,” she said.
The press briefing was held to explain the Biden administration’s implementation of its National Defense Strategy.
Karlin pointed out that the Pentagon’s approach to the Indo-Pacific is delivering a U.S. military that is “more capable, more forward and more deeply integrated” with regional allies and partners “than ever before.”
“On capabilities, that means rapidly updating U.S. military power with advanced capabilities and novel operational concepts to address regional challenges. Being forward means being more physically visible and agile in the region,” she said.
Touching on this week’s agreement between the U.S. and China to resume high-level military communications, Karlin underscored the importance of maintaining “open communications.”
“The last thing we want is to misunderstand one another and have some sort of miscalculation and escalation,” she said.
Biden and Chinese President Xi Jinping reached the agreement at their first summit in a year in California on Wednesday. Under the agreement, the two sides will restart U.S.-China defense policy coordination talks, military maritime consultative dialogue and “theater commander” talks, she noted.
(Yonhap)
