U.S. will focus on enhancing deterrence against N. Korean threats: U.S. official

By Byun Duk-kun

WASHINGTON, March 2 (Yonhap) -- The United States is and will continue to build extended deterrence against North Korea's evolving nuclear threats, a ranking U.S. official said Thursday, adding the purpose of deterrence is to show the cost of aggression will be higher than what the aggressor can bear.

Ely Ratner, assistant secretary of defense for Indo-Pacific security affairs, said the U.S. is also working to build the confidence of South Korea in U.S. extended deterrence.

"We are focused on readiness, and we are not going to slow down because of these threats," the Pentagon official said when asked about North Korea's recent threat to conduct additional intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBMs) tests.

North Korea test fired an ICBM last month, followed by a statement from Kim Yo-jong, the sister of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, that the North may use the Pacific Ocean as its "firing range" should the U.S. continue to stage joint military drills with South Korea.

"You keep doing what you are doing. You keep strengthening deterrence and you do it with a sense of confidence, and you do it in a way that signals that the cost of aggression would be higher than your adversaries can bear," Ratner said in a forum hosted by the Hudson Institute, a Washington-based think tank.

He added the U.S. is in the process of strengthening its extended deterrence, while also working to reassure Seoul of U.S. commitment to the defense of South Korea.

Pyongyang conducted 69 ballistic missile tests last year, including eight ICBM tests. The number marks a new record of ballistic missiles fired in a single year. The country's previous record was 25.

"We are discussing now about new mechanisms ... to get after some of the issues that we know are really important to Seoul, which is to better understand our strategic operations and planning and thinking," said Ratner.

"We have also been doing site visits with senior Korean officials to go to U.S. strategic sites to actually see and understand and meet folks there about what we are talking about in a very concrete way," he added.

Seoul and Washington held the eighth Deterrence Strategy Committee Table-Top Exercise in Washington last month, which the sides said focused on enhancing the implementation of U.S. extended deterrence through "joint planning and execution."

Extended deterrence refers to U.S. commitment to use all its military capabilities, including nuclear, to help defend its ally in case of a contingency.

North Korea's unprecedented missile launches and recent ICBM tests have led to concerns in Seoul that the U.S. may not come to South Korea's aid when it is attacked by North Korea if doing so may lead to Pyongyang targeting major U.S. cities with nuclear-tipped ICBMs.

"I think it's important to remember the goal of these activities, which is to deter aggression and to deter conflict," Ratner said.

"It's not to deter Kim Jong-un from killing a bunch of fish with his missiles. We are focused on readiness. We are focused on deterrence and we are focused on ensuring that Kim Jong-un doesn't take risks that go way beyond his capacity," he added.

bdk@yna.co.kr
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