S. Korea's 'strategic command' to oversee space, cyber units, F-35s, submarines: official

SEOUL, Feb. 9 (Yonhap) -- South Korea's military plans to task its envisioned "strategic command" with overseeing space and cybersecurity units, and those running F-35 stealth jets and submarines, a defense ministry official said Thursday.

Speaking at a security forum, Ryoo Moo-bong, deputy defense minister for defense reform, detailed key features of the command that Seoul has been seeking to launch next year to counter evolving North Korean nuclear and missile threats.

The command is designed to take charge of the Cyber Operations Command, units for missile, space and electromagnetic spectrum operations as well as those operating F-35 jets and submarines, he said.

"It will be in charge of missions overseeing operations of the three-axis system against the enemy's nuclear and missile threats," Ryoo said at the forum hosted by the Korea Institute for Defense Analyses (KIDA) and the British Embassy in Seoul.

The three-pronged system refers to the Korea Massive Punishment and Retaliation, an operational plan to incapacitate the North Korean leadership in a major conflict; the Kill Chain pre-emptive strike platform; and the Korea Air and Missile Defense system.

The Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) is pushing to expand the JCS Directorate of Countering Nuclear and Weapons of Mass Destruction (WMD) to create the strategic command in 2024, according to Ryoo.

In particular, Ryoo highlighted the need to improve cyberspace and electromagnetic capabilities, which can be used to neutralize threats from hostile missiles even before their launch.

The seminar was attended by Colin Crooks, the British ambassador to Seoul, and KIDA President Kim Yun-tae.

yunhwanchae@yna.co.kr
(END)