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Seoul, Washington to discuss additional N. Korea sanctions, strengthen ‘extended deterrence’

Seoul, Washington to discuss additional N. Korea sanctions, strengthen ‘extended deterrence’

Posted October. 20, 2016 07:23,   

Updated October. 20, 2016 07:31

한국어
South Korea's Foreign Minister Yun Byung-se and Defense Minister Han Min-koo will meet their U.S. counterparts at the U.S. State Department in Washington on Wednesday (local time) to discuss diplomatic and military measures to curb North Korea’s nuclear and missile threats. At the biennial 2+2 security and alliance talks, the officials plan to eval‎uate the implementation of the U.N. Resolution 2270 on sanctioning the North and discuss new sanctions that would put substantial pressure on Pyongyang. They will also assess the effects of various anti-North Korean sanctions imposed separately from the U.N.-led sanctions.

After laying flowers at the Korean War Veterans Memorial in Washington on Tuesday, the two South Korean ministers told reporters that the upcoming meeting will try to maximize the effects of the three axes of North Korea sanctions – those by the U.N. Security Council, the U.S. and its allies, and the international community. A diplomatic source in Washington said the U.S. administration had drawn up measures for additional sanctions on the North ahead of the 2+2 meeting, where the two allies would discuss the timing for the implementation.

Yun said that the two sides will also discuss ways to strengthen the U.S. "extended deterrence," a key part of the U.S. security commitment to South Korea. Han also noted that Seoul and Washington will discuss ways to guarantee the implementation of the extended deterrence and bolster the bilateral combined defense posture. Since the North’s fifth nuclear test turned the nuclear threats into reality, there have been calls for strengthening the effectiveness of the extended deterrence, including permanent deployment of a U.S. nuclear umbrella on the Korean Peninsula.

On Thursday, Han and U.S. Secretary of Defense Ash Carter will hold the 46th Security Consultative Meeting at the Department of Defense to discuss detailed extended deterrence measures. If the foreign affairs and defense authorities of the two allies reach an agreement on concrete measures to strengthen extended deterrence, it is expected to have a significant impact on some South Koreans’ call for nuclear armament and conditional redeployment of U.S. tactical nuclear weapons.



워싱턴=이승헌 특파원ddr@donga.com