US-South Korea to ratchet up military ties as Kim & North Korea's nuke rattling continues

United States and the South Korea on Friday, July 29, agreed to expand the military cooperation and start a strategic dialogue on extended deterrence at an early date amidst the nuclear attack threats hurled by the neighbouring North Korea's authoritarian leader Kim Jong Un. US Secretary of Defence Lloyd Austin welcomed his defence counterpart from Republic of Korea (ROK) Minister of National Defence Lee Jong-Sup to the Pentagon to bolster military cooperation as DPRK warned that it will ‘wipe out’ foes with its nuclear weapons, adding that the Korean peninsula to the “brink of war." 

"Our armed forces are completely prepared, our country’s nuclear war deterrent is also ready to mobilise its absolute power dutifully, exactly and swiftly in accordance with its mission," North Korea's Kim Jong Un said in a chilling warning at event that commemorated the 1953 Korean war. 

In the face of the nuclear and military response threats, US-South Korea planned to go ahead with the scheduled military exercise next month, that is being speculated to be the first large-scale drills since 2018. US reaffirmed its ironclad commitment to the ROK Alliance and the defence of the ROK as DPRK sends signals of a war on the contentious Korean peninsula. 

US and South Korea held a dialogue on a broad range of mutual issues as well as exchanged views on the overall security environment on the Korean Peninsula and in the Indo-Pacific region. Austin and his South Korean counterpart Lee agreed to focus on strengthening readiness and interoperability of Alliance combined forces.

Secretary Austin emphasized that the United States stands firm, with the full range of US capabilities, in its extended deterrence commitment to the ROK, according to Pentagon. 

Austin and Lee in Pentagon. Credit: US DoD

In a fierce speech made at the "Victory Day" parade, authoritarian leader Kim Jong-un had threatened to use the nukes should a potential military conflict break out between its adversary the United States and its neighbour, an ally of Washington, South Korea. This has triggered concerns with the United States and the South Korea, prompting a response from the UN that stressed: We are against all rhetoric involving the use of such deadly weapons and of course, we continue to call for resumed negotiations on the peaceful denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula." 

US, South Korea's military readiness to 'reinforce deterrence'

During a press address, US defence secretary Austin stressed on the importance of close cooperation between the two nations  and maintaining military readiness to "reinforce deterrence" in the face of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea’s (DPRK) so called destabilizing activities in the region. South Korean leader also participated in the dedication of the Korean War Veterans Memorial's Wall of Remembrance. The monument enshrines the names of tens of thousands of slain Korean and American soldiers who fought in the Korean war post WWII wherein US supported South Korea. 

South Korean defence ministry on July 29 iterated that the US and the South Korea have agreed to expand the military exercises as threats of the nuclear attack have been made by the North Korean leader Kim Jong-Un, who had lashed out at the ally countries of its beighbour for holding drills close to its border. Both US Secretary of Defence Austin and Austin and Lee agreed on ramping up trilateral coperation that includes the Asian ally Japan as well as "enhancing regional cooperation that protects shared security and prosperity, upholds common values, and bolsters the rules-based international order."