(LEAD) S. Korea, U.S. to resume key high-level deterrence talks next week

All News 14:39 September 08, 2022

(ATTN: UPDATES with press release in paras 5-6; RECASTS 2nd para)
By Song Sang-ho

SEOUL, Sept. 8 (Yonhap) -- South Korea and the United States will hold a key high-level deterrence dialogue in Washington, D.C., next week for the first time since 2018, the defense and foreign ministries said Thursday, amid the allies' move to bolster joint efforts to counter North Korea's evolving military threats.

The Extended Deterrence Strategy and Consultation Group (EDSCG), a gathering of the two countries' vice-ministerial defense and diplomatic officials, is scheduled to take place on Sept. 16 (Washington time), they said.

The EDSCG has not been held since its second and last session in January 2018, when the then liberal Moon Jae-in administration pushed for an initiative to promote inter-Korean rapprochement and cooperation.

Seoul's vice defense and foreign ministers, Shin Beom-chul and Cho Hyun-dong, respectively, will attend the session while the U.S. side will be represented by Colin H. Kahl, under secretary of defense for policy, and Bonnie Denise Jenkins, under secretary of state for arms control and international security.

"In this grave security situation on the Korean Peninsula, the two sides plan to have in-depth discussions on comprehensive ways to deter North Korean threats, including measures to strengthen the credibility of extended deterrence," the two ministries said in a joint press release.

Extended deterrence refers to America's stated commitment to mobilizing a full range of its military capabilities, including nuclear options, to defend its ally.

The meeting has been arranged amid concerns that Pyongyang could engage in provocative acts, like what would be its seventh nuclear test and another ballistic missile launch.

The planned reactivation of the EDSCG came after South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol and his U.S. counterpart, Joe Biden, agreed on it during their summit in May in Seoul as part of joint efforts to address Pyongyang's growing nuclear and missile threats.