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Quotes of the Day:
“Elected officials are hard-wired to ask for options first and hen reverse-engineer objectives. And the military is hard-wired to do exactly the opposite.”
- General Martin E. Dempsey, Former CJCS
“There are two ways to be fooled. One is to believe what isn’t true; the other is to refuse to believe what is true.”
-Soren Kierkegaard
“People almost invariably arrive at their beliefs not on the basis of proof but on the basis of what they find.”
- Blaise Pascal
1. Why isn’t Biden denouncing North Korea’s human rights record?
2. The Korean Peninsula still poses major risks
3. North Korea sets new record for ballistic missile launches in 2022
4. North Korea tensions: Why is Kim Jong-un upping the pressure?
5. U.S., Japan, S. Korea warn of 'unparalleled' response if N. Korea holds nuclear test
6. North Korea would capitalize on a fight over Taiwan, South Korean diplomat says
7. US vows full military defense of allies against North Korea
8. US very much focused on human rights conditions in N. Korea: State Dept.
9. US midterm election results could complicate denuclearization of North Korea: expert
10. Korea-US alliance affects all countries: envoys
11. Korea, US work as a team to thwart North Korean threats: Yoon
12. Deputy NIS director resigns for 'personal' reasons
13. U.S. has no plan to change defense posture in Indo-Pacific: Pentagon spokesperson
1. Why isn’t Biden denouncing North Korea’s human rights record?
We must implement a new strategy based on these three lines of effort: a human rights upfront approach, a sophisticated and comprehensive information and influence campaign, and the pursuit of a free and unified Korea.
We should remember that when we talk about the regime's nuclear program it reinforces Kim's legitimacy. When we describe the regime's human rights atrocities it undermines Kim's legitimacy.
It should be an administration policy (of both the ROK and US administrations) that every time we have to mention north Korea nuclear, missile, and military threats, we mention human rights. We should remind the Korean people in the north (and the international community) that their human rights are being denied because Kim deliberately prioritizes nuclear and missile development over the welfare of the people. A statement along these lines should be included in every official ROK and US government statement.
We should remember that Kim fears the Korean people armed with information more than he fears the ROK/US alliance military.
Human rights i snot only a moral imperative, it is a national security issue because Kim must deny the human rights of the Korean people living in the north in order to remain in power.
Lastly, we must not mistake humanitarian assistance for a human rights upfront approach. Humanitarian assistance does not contribute to solving the human rights abuses and we should not think that it does.
Why isn’t Biden denouncing North Korea’s human rights record?
BY DONALD KIRK, OPINION CONTRIBUTOR - 10/25/22 11:30 AM ET
THE VIEWS EXPRESSED BY CONTRIBUTORS ARE THEIR OWN AND NOT THE VIEW OF THE HILL
The Hill · October 25, 2022
Americans in high places make great statements about human rights in North Korea, but what are we really doing to combat the abuses of the regime?
The answer is, beyond nice talk, President Biden and the State Department have relegated North Korean human rights to a low priority while repeating familiar demands that Kim Jong Un enter talks on his nuclear warheads and missiles. It’s blatantly obvious by now that Kim, if he has no real intention of firing a missile carrying a small tactical warhead, as he has been threatening, is not going to consider perpetual American demands for denuclearization.
So why can’t the Biden administration make a huge issue of North Korea’s record on human rights even though North Korea will go on denying all the charges of execution and torture for the flimsiest of offenses, true or false, real or imagined? The answer in part is that everyone knows repetition of the complaints will not move North Korea. The North Korean leadership is extremely sensitive to all these complaints, going to great lengths to deny them in meetings of the United Nations Human Rights Council and other forums, in editorials and statements. From this response, it’s clear that repeatedly exposing the horrors of a dictatorship that survives on repression and cruelty does have an impact.
For that matter, why is South Korea’s conservative President Yoon Suk-yeol, having endorsed joint military exercises with the Americans, not doing more to reverse the policies of his leftist predecessor, Moon Jae-in, who ignored North Korea’s record on human rights during his presidency while courting Kim? Like Biden & Co. in Washington, Yoon in Seoul appears to have more or less given up on human rights in the North as a lost cause. It’s as though both American and South Korean policymakers think there’s no point to infuriating Kim by carrying on about North Korea’s brutality to its own people while vainly pleading for dialogue.
The subject, however, is not totally dead. Congress in 2004 passed a North Korean Human Rights Act, signed by President George W. Bush. The act comes up for renewal periodically. Congress is expected to renew it when it convenes in November, having put off the topic until after the congressional elections on Nov. 8 in order to deny proponents of the act the chance to brag about it for the benefit of Korean American voters in their districts.
Delays in naming special ambassadors on North Korean rights in both the U.S. and Korea show the ambivalence of policymakers in Washington and Seoul. Biden still has not filled the position. Yoon has named Lee Shin-wha, a professor at Seoul’s Ewha Womans University, as South Korea’s ambassador on North Korean human rights; Moon had left the post vacant for fear of upsetting Kim. Even so, Moon’s adherents in the National Assembly, enjoying a majority of the seats, are doing their best to undermine the North Korean Human Rights Foundation as mandated by South Korea’s North Korean Human Rights Act, passed in 2016 before the ouster and jailing of the conservative Park Geun-hye.
“To its credit, the Yoon administration appointed a human rights ambassador and, for the first time in four years, South Korea signed onto a UN resolution criticizing North Korean human rights violations,” said Bruce Klingner, senior fellow at the Heritage Foundation. “This is a welcome change from the Moon administration’s downplaying of Pyongyang’s violations.”
To Klingner and others, however, Washington’s disinterest in the topic of North Korean human rights is more than a little incomprehensible.
“Human rights should be part of a comprehensive North Korea strategy,” Klingner told me. “The Biden administration pledged that it would return human rights to a place of prominence in its policy after the topic had been ignored during the Trump administration.” Yet, so far, he observed, they’ve “under-achieved on highlighting North Korean human rights violations” by not filling “the long-vacant position of North Korean human rights envoy, though there have been rumors someone has been selected.”
Suzanne Scholte, president of the Defense Forum Foundation, headquartered in suburban Washington, is impassioned about the seeming weakness of both American and South Korean governments when it comes to crusading for human rights in North Korea.
“There’s a lot of talk but no action” on the part of the Americans, she complained. She did seem happy about a statement issued by Ned Price, State Department spokesman, at the opening of North Korea Freedom Week on Sept. 30, in which he said the U.S. “remains committed to shining a spotlight on the egregious human rights situation in the DPRK [Democratic People’s Republic of Korea] and working with allies and partners to promote accountability and increase the free flow of information into, out of, and within the DPRK.”
Those noble words, though, were nothing new. Biden and his people “talk about human rights as the central part of his presidency,” said Scholte. “They’ve been great on the language but no real action.”
Scholte, in her most recent visit to North Korea, delivered an impassioned speech, in which she said “the three most urgent matters before us are saving the refugees in China, calling for the release of those being held against their will in North Korea, and relaunching what had been a most successful information campaign to North Korea.”
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Scholte is urging China to show some mercy on hundreds of men, women and children whom China has yet to send back to North Korea thanks to Kim’s closing the borders in early 2020 after the first COVID outbreak was reported in Wuhan, and she actively battled for North Korean defectors to send balloons laden with Tylenol tablets and anti-Kim leaflets. The police, however, blocked a leaflet launch and briefly held the fiery defector, Park Sang-hak, in charge of the launch. She still gets through to North Korea by daily radio programs broadcast from outside Korea that she claims reach as many people as VOA and BBC.
“Yoon needs to do more,” said Scholte. “They’ve got to overturn the leaflet law” — enacted at Moon’s behest as he sought to appease Kim. She said Kim “has been incredibly successful. He put North Koreans back in the dark.” Now, she believes, Biden in Washington and Yoon in Seoul together have the chance to bring light to an oppressed people after Moon “gutted the campaigns led by the defectors.”
Donald Kirk has been a journalist for more than 60 years, focusing much of his career on conflict in Asia and the Middle East, including as a correspondent for the Washington Star and Chicago Tribune. He currently is a freelance correspondent covering North and South Korea. He is the author of several books about Asian affairs.
The Hill · by Brett Samuels · October 25, 2022
2. The Korean Peninsula still poses major risks
But we should also not be under any illusion that concessions and arms control negotiations will make the situation any less dangerous. We must approach north Korea based on sound assumptions based on the nature, objectives, and strategy of the Kim family regime.
I fear the author is advocating concessions. If so then Kim will only assess that his strategy is working and he will continue on the same path.
Conclusion
If the two Koreas remain stuck in this cycle of escalation, no good will come of it. North Korea’s rhetoric and its military show of force has made it clear that the country will not be easily deterred by words, threats, military drills or sanctions. The answer should not be more military action, but a focus on objectively and realistically re-evaluating the current North Korea strategy and shifting back towards diplomacy and dialogue. The disappointment from efforts in recent years cannot be an excuse not to continue to try, and try again.
The Korean Peninsula still poses major risks | Lowy Institute
Escalating tensions and vicious cycles. We’ve heard this
story before. That doesn’t make the situation less dangerous.
lowyinstitute.org · by Gabriela Bernal
Tensions have been rising rapidly on the Korean Peninsula over the past few weeks. Military drills involving South Korea, the United States and Japan were met with strong retaliation by North Korea, which has continued through various armed provocations. The situation reached a dangerous new level on Monday morning, when North and South Korean ships exchanged fire.
After a North Korean ship crossed the Northern Limit Line (NLL), the de-facto maritime border between the two Koreas, South Korea’s navy reportedly fired some 20 rounds of warning shots. North Korea, however, claimed a South Korean warship violated the western sea boundary and proceeded to fire 10 artillery shells into the western sea from multiple rocket launchers.
The escalation in tensions began soon after the arrival of the USS Ronald Reagan aircraft carrier at Busan on 23 September. Two days later, North Korea launched its first ballistic missile in what would become a series of military acts, which included an intermediate-range ballistic missile test over Japan, artillery firing drills, fighter jet flight formations, and more.
The moves by North Korea have significantly increased the possibility that the September 2018 inter-Korean military agreement will become obsolete. Under that agreement, made at the time of a spate of summit diplomacy between leaders, the two Koreas decided to create buffer zones on either side of the NLL and to cease all live-fire and maritime manoeuvre exercises within these zones. The goal was to completely suspend all hostile military activity along the inter-Korean border.
However, events seem to be moving in the opposite direction now. South Korea accused the North of violating the military agreement through its recent artillery fire, saying the fate of the deal lies with North Korea.
If the agreement were to be dissolved, it is highly likely that the already tense military situation on the Peninsula would further escalate and turn the inter-Korean border into a volatile zone where accidental clashes could result in a potential all-out military confrontation. Such a scenario would not benefit either North, South, or the wider region. Warning shots could end up killing individuals, a missile could misfire, a ship could be accidentally sunk, a civilian-populated land area could accidentally be hit by a rocket. The possibilities for mistrust to spiral into miscalculation and disaster are frightening.
Expecting a positive response from North Korea while sticking to unrealistic expectations and old strategies will not result in a desirable outcome.
Although it is true that North Korea conducted many military provocations in response to the joint military drills involving the United States, South Korea and Japan, the latter group have also allowed tensions to rise by restarting exercises once again. This policy is not conducive to deterring North Korea or fostering a safer, more secure environment in Northeast Asia. The United States and allies know that North Korea does not respond well to joint military drills. Although the drills are arguably necessary to “maintain military readiness”, the excessive repeating of the exercises is not. Instead of having a deterring effect on Pyongyang, such behaviour only serves to anger the North and give it more excuses to continue military provocations. In this vicious tit-for-tat cycle, it’s difficult to see a peaceful escape.
South Korea should make clear its continued commitment to the 2018 agreement and refrain from militarily engaging North Korea further. The United States should also take serious note of Kim Jong-un’s recent statements regarding the “irreversible” nature of the country’s nuclear status. Expecting a positive response from North Korea while sticking to unrealistic expectations and old strategies will not result in a desirable outcome.
If the two Koreas remain stuck in this cycle of escalation, no good will come of it. North Korea’s rhetoric and its military show of force has made it clear that the country will not be easily deterred by words, threats, military drills or sanctions. The answer should not be more military action, but a focus on objectively and realistically re-evaluating the current North Korea strategy and shifting back towards diplomacy and dialogue. The disappointment from efforts in recent years cannot be an excuse not to continue to try, and try again.
lowyinstitute.org · by Gabriela Bernal
3. North Korea sets new record for ballistic missile launches in 2022
interesting and useful graphics at the link:
https://www.grid.news/story/global/2022/10/25/north-korea-sets-record-for-ballistic-missile-launches-in-2022-raising-global-concern-of-another-nuclear-test/
North Korea sets new record for ballistic missile launches in 2022
As the world watches Ukraine, “Rocket Man” makes his return.
Matt Stiles
Senior Data Visualization Reporter
grid.news · by Matt Stiles
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has steered his country on a particularly destabilizing path this year, firing off a record number of missile tests after a period of relative quiet.
This acceleration has once again alarmed North Korea’s neighbors and international observers and sparked anxieties about the prospect of another nuclear test, which would be the reclusive nation’s first since 2017.
With much of the world focused on the war in Ukraine, Kim — who then-President Donald Trump dubbed “Little Rocket Man” over a missile-testing barrage in 2017 — has conducted two dozen successful ballistic missile tests in 2022 alone. Though the missiles carried no payloads, the launches violated United Nations resolutions intended to curb the country’s nuclear ambitions and capabilities.
In fact, Kim has now broken the record for missile tests he set back in 2017 when Kim and Trump were trading insults, according to a Grid review of data collected separately by the James Martin Center for Nonproliferation Studies and the Center for Strategic and International Studies.
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The recent tests — and particularly a flurry of missiles fired off this month — have North Korea watchers wondering: What is Kim up to, and why is he doing it now?
Kim Jong Un’s game
As former CIA acting director John McLaughlin wrote recently for Grid, Kim has observed the deterrent power of such weapons. “Clearly, Kim sees these weapons as the best way to ensure regime survival in a world he regards as hostile,” McLaughlin said. “He has doubtless noted the vulnerability of states that either did give them up (see Libya — or Ukraine) or failed to acquire them (Iraq and Syria). Among other things, the arsenal he has built buys him some assurance that other countries will not attack his country.”
Some analysts believe that Kim has been observing the war in Ukraine and has drawn his own lessons about the deterrent effect of Russia’s nuclear arsenal.
“The Russian invasion of Ukraine reinforces the North Korean leader’s belief that giving up their nuclear weapons would be dangerous to the regime’s security,” said Ellen Kim, a deputy director and senior fellow at the Center for Strategic and International Studies.
North Korea’s arsenal also helps the regime in what has been a long-running strategy of gaining economic concessions and assistance; Kim Jong Un might rattle the saber and frighten the region, and then win concessions in exchange for ending the provocations.
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McLaughlin and others have also noted a family dynamic that may have influenced the current regime.
“Kim lacked the experience or charisma of his father and grandfather, who led the nation before him,” he said. “Kim needed something more to lock in his authority and prove his ability to lead and protect the country. That ‘something more’ turned out to be an unrelenting push for advances in the country’s nuclear and ballistic missile capabilities.”
The recent tests
This year, the North Korean regime has focused almost exclusively on launching shorter-range missiles capable of hitting targets within a few hundred miles. They have all splashed harmlessly into the East Sea or Sea of Japan.
Earlier this month, though, North Korea fired a long-range missile over Japan for the first time in five years, sparking widespread fear and sending many Japanese citizens into air raid shelters. The missile traveled roughly 2,800 miles and peaked at about 600 miles above the earth before landing safely in the Pacific Ocean.
The launch over Japanese territory drew a particularly forceful condemnation from the United Nations.
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“This was a reckless act and a clear violation of relevant Security Council resolutions,” said Khaled Khiari, assistant secretary-general at the U.N. “This launch risks triggering a significant escalation of tensions in the region and beyond.”
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Analysts believe the North’s recent focus on shorter-range missiles — which are newer and contain solid fuel, allowing them to be stored and moved more easily and deployed more quickly — could be an effort to demonstrate that the regime has boosted its conventional military abilities, particularly against rival South Korea.
The history
Though the North and South share a common ethnic background and language, they’ve been split by a tense east-west border since World War II, a separation solidified by the Korean War. That bloody conflict, which is still technically unsettled, has prompted decades of tension and worries about another armed conflict.
South Korea is now one of the world’s largest economies and a thriving democracy, while the North remains an impoverished dictatorship that remains isolated from the world in part because of its illicit pursuit of a nuclear weapons program.
Since the end of the Korean War, the North has engaged in scores of provocations, such as artillery fire, territorial incursions and other incidents. But it has ramped up its pursuit of nuclear weapons and especially the missiles needed to deliver them in the last decade, since Kim Jong Un — the grandson of North Korea’s founding leader, Kim Il Sung — came to power in December 2011.
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Since then, the regime has conducted more than 120 ballistic missile tests in violation of international resolutions, including some involving intercontinental devices that, in theory, could reach the continental United States.
The nuclear fears
The U.S. Army estimated in 2020 that North Korea had between 20 and 60 nuclear weapons. It remains unclear whether the country is capable of deploying them via long-range missiles, which have been launched from various locations over the years as the country’s capabilities have evolved and improved.
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North Korea conducted a half dozen nuclear tests between 2006 and 2017 — steadily increasing the potency of the detonations. The earliest test was believed to have a yield of 2 kilotons; by the 2017 test, the figure was estimated at 250 kilotons — roughly 16 times the power of the bomb that the U.S. dropped on Hiroshima in 1945. The force of the blast caused an earthquake near the testing site that was measured at 6.3 on the Richter scale.
A historic 2018 summit between Trump and Kim in Singapore cooled tensions, but North Korea ramped up its missile testing again in 2019. There was a lull following the covid outbreak; this year, the frequency of the tests ramped up to those record levels.
Experts who study the Korean peninsula are now worried about another nuclear detonation by the North at its Punggye-ri testing site, where observers have noticed recent preparations.
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“We have satellite imagery that all the preparations are done,” Ellen Kim told Grid. “We’re waiting for North Korea, whether they are going to do their nuclear test or not.”
As for Kim Jong Un, he has long shown a propensity for keeping the world guessing. But he has said repeatedly that North Korea stands ready, as he put it this summer, “to deploy the country’s nuclear deterrent.”
Thanks to Lillian Barkley and Alicia Benjamin for copy editing this article.
grid.news · by Matt Stiles
4. North Korea tensions: Why is Kim Jong-un upping the pressure?
Excerpts:
So, what is Kim Jong-un up to? There are three reasons North Korea tends to launch missiles - to test and improve its weapons technology, to send a political message to the world (primarily the US), and to impress its people at home and shore up loyalty to the regime.
...
Now Mr Kim needs attention. He needs the world to notice the progress he has made, if he is one day to get harsh international sanctions on his country lifted. Sanctions haven't stopped North Korea developing weapons, as they were designed to, but they are hurting its economy.
Talks aimed at reducing those sanctions have long stalled and North Korea is slipping down the global agenda. The world is far more concerned with the war in Ukraine, and the rise of an authoritarian China. President Biden's position is that sanctions on North Korea can only be eased when it agrees to give up all its nuclear weapons.
Addition, Kim may believe he has the opportunity to advance his military development programs while the US is distracted with Ukraine, Taiwan/PRC, and Iran.
Kim may also be supporting Russia by creating a security dilemma for the US.
BUt my guess is that while continued development of advanced warfighting capabilities is probably the Occam's razor explanation, I think potential internal instability bears watching.
Plan B: A human rights upfront, information and influence activities campaign, and the pursuit of a free and unified Korea.
North Korea tensions: Why is Kim Jong-un upping the pressure?
BBC · by Menu
Image source, KCNA
Image caption,
North Korea has over the past month launched several ballistic missiles
By Jean Mackenzie
BBC Seoul correspondent
Periods of tension with North Korea come and go, but the situation on the Korean peninsula right now is the most volatile it has been in five years and it looks likely to get worse.
Over the past month the North has fired a missile over Japan, forcing residents to seek shelter; a hostile and provocative act. It has launched several other ballistic missiles, flown warplanes close to its border with South Korea and fired hundreds of shells of artillery into the sea, which have landed in a military buffer zone, created by the two Koreas in 2018 to keep peace. The two countries are technically still at war.
On Monday a North Korean merchant ship crossed the countries' sea border, causing both sides to fire warning shots. South Korea says the incursion was intentional.
So, what is Kim Jong-un up to? There are three reasons North Korea tends to launch missiles - to test and improve its weapons technology, to send a political message to the world (primarily the US), and to impress its people at home and shore up loyalty to the regime.
It can be hard to decipher which of these ends Pyongyang's actions serve, but this time Mr Kim has been explicit. State media has reported several times that the recent launches and drills are in response to military exercises being run by the US, South Korea and Japan. The North has blamed its enemies for escalating tensions and says its launches are a clear warning they should stop.
Washington, Seoul and Tokyo have been holding large-scale military exercises, separately and together, for the past two months, to show they are ready for a North Korean nuclear attack. There is little doubt these have antagonised Mr Kim, who has always viewed such exercises as his enemies rehearsing for an invasion. The reason North Korea started developing nuclear weapons in the first place was to stop itself from being invaded.
But there is a less explicit reason he could be upping the pressure now. Some believe may be preparing the ground for a more provocative test - the detonation of a nuclear weapon for the first time in five years, or even a small-scale attack on South Korea.
Last year he laid out a five-year plan, detailing all the new weapons he planned to develop. It included smaller battlefield nuclear bombs and the short-range missiles to carry them. The recent tests are evidence Mr Kim is not only working his way through this weapons wish list, but that he is training his troops to use them. He used some of the recent drills, he said, to simulate a nuclear attack on South Korea.
Now Mr Kim needs attention. He needs the world to notice the progress he has made, if he is one day to get harsh international sanctions on his country lifted. Sanctions haven't stopped North Korea developing weapons, as they were designed to, but they are hurting its economy.
Talks aimed at reducing those sanctions have long stalled and North Korea is slipping down the global agenda. The world is far more concerned with the war in Ukraine, and the rise of an authoritarian China. President Biden's position is that sanctions on North Korea can only be eased when it agrees to give up all its nuclear weapons.
In the meantime, Washington and Seoul have agreed to strengthen their defence of the Peninsula by holding the military exercises Pyongyang hates so much, and responding to its provocations with force. Following the North's latest round of missile launches and drills, South Korea sent up warplanes and shot artillery of its own.
If Mr Kim is to get the US to negotiate on terms more favourable to him, he must prove how dangerous his country has become. Last month he declared North Korea to be a nuclear weapons state, a position he said was irreversible.
We should be worried about how assertive it seems to have become, said Kim Jong-dae, a former advisor in South Korea's Defence Ministry. He pointed out how in the past North Korea has waited until US forces have finished their military exercises before retaliating. This time they fired artillery into the sea while exercises were ongoing.
"We have never seen this audacity and aggression before, it is different. It is the North acting like a nuclear state," he said.
The US and South Korean governments believe preparations for North Korea's seventh nuclear weapon test are complete and the North is waiting for the opportune political moment to act. An attractive window is opening, with China's Communist Party Conference now over and the US midterm elections approaching.
Meanwhile South Korea is in the midst of yet another round of war games, with the US scheduled to join in. These may well provide Kim Jong-un with the pretext he has been waiting for.
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BBC · by Menu
5. U.S., Japan, S. Korea warn of 'unparalleled' response if N. Korea holds nuclear test
I sure hope we are willing to put up after this statement. Unprecedented? I hope that includes a human rights upfront approach and a massive information and influence campaign.
U.S., Japan, S. Korea warn of 'unparalleled' response if N. Korea holds nuclear test
Reuters · by Kiyoshi Takenaka
TOKYO, Oct 26 (Reuters) - The United States, Japan and South Korea warned on Wednesday that an "unparalleled" scale of response would be warranted if North Korea conducts a seventh nuclear bomb test.
Washington and its allies believe North Korea could be about to resume nuclear bomb testing for the first time since 2017.
"We agreed that an unparalleled scale of response would be necessary if North Korea pushes ahead with a seventh nuclear test," South Korean First Vice Foreign Minister Cho Hyun-dong told a news conference in Tokyo.
Cho was speaking alongside his Japanese and U.S. counterparts, Vice Foreign Minister Takeo Mori and Deputy Secretary of State Wendy Sherman.
The United States and its allies have offered few details on what new measures they might take, and observers say they have few good options for preventing a new test.
For the first time since North Korea began testing nuclear weapons in 2006, China and Russia this year vetoed a U.S.-led push for additional United Nations Security Council sanctions, and stepped-up allied military drills have only been met by more North Korean tests and exercises.
"We urge (North Korea) to refrain from further provocations," Sherman said, calling them "reckless and deeply destabilising for the region.
"Anything that happens here, such as a North Korean nuclear test ... has implications for the security of the entire world," she said, sending a thinly veiled message to Pyongyang's supporters, China and Russia, in the UN Security Council.
"We hope indeed that everyone on the Security Council would understand that any use of a nuclear weapon will change the world in incredible ways."
[1/6] Japanese Vice Minister for Foreign Affairs Takeo Mori, US Deputy Secretary of State Wendy Sherman and South Korea's First Vice-Minister of Foreign Affairs Cho Hyundong, attend the joint press conference after their trilateral meeting Wednesday, Oct. 26, 2022, at the Iikura guesthouse in Tokyo. Eugene Hoshiko/Pool via REUTERS
When asked about the comments out of Tokyo, Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson Wang Wenbin called on all the countries to acknowledge "the root causes of the long-standing impasse" and take steps to enhance mutual trust and address the concerns of all parties in a balanced manner.
North Korea has been carrying out weapons tests at an unprecedented pace this year, firing more than two dozen ballistic missiles, including one that flew over Japan.
Angered by South Korea's military activities, Pyongyang last week fired hundreds of artillery shells off its coasts in what it called a grave warning to its neighbour to the south.
In September, the USS Ronald Reagan and accompanying ships conducted joint military exercises with South Korean forces in response to a North Korean ballistic missile test in what was their first joint military training involving a US aircraft carrier since 2017.
In response, the United States, South Korea and Japan have committed to deepening cooperation, Mori said.
"We agreed to further strengthen deterrence and response capability of the Japan-U.S. alliance and the U.S.-South Korea alliance, and to promote further security cooperation among the three countries," Mori said.
On mounting tensions between China and Taiwan, Sherman reiterated the United States' stance that it does not support Taiwan's independence, but that it does not stop it from working with Japan and South Korea to help Taiwan protect itself.
"United States has repeated publicly that we do not support Taiwan's independence, but we want to ensure that there is peace, and so we will be doing whatever we can to support Taiwan and to work with Japan and with Republic of Korea to ensure that Taiwan can defend itself," Sherman said.
At a Communist Party meeting this month, Chinese President Xi Jinping called for accelerating China's plans to build a world-class military and said his country would never renounce the right to use force to resolve the Taiwan issue.
China claims democratically ruled Taiwan as its own territory, while Taiwan's government strongly objects to China's sovereignty claims and says only the island's 23 million people can decide its future.
Reporting by Kiyoshi Takenaka in Tokyo, Additional reporting by Hyonhee Shin, Soo-hyang Choi and Josh Smith in Seoul, and Eduardo Baptista in Beijing; Writing by Chang-Ran Kim; Editing by Simon Cameron-Moore
Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.
Reuters · by Kiyoshi Takenaka
6. North Korea would capitalize on a fight over Taiwan, South Korean diplomat says
Fight two simultaneous wars? Near simultaneous? Win-hold-win?
North Korea would capitalize on a fight over Taiwan, South Korean diplomat says
Stars and Stripes · by David Choi · October 25, 2022
U.S. and South Korean marines train together at Pilsung Range in Gangwan Province, South Korea, Sept. 15, 2022. (Jacob Johnson/U.S. Marine Corps)
CAMP HUMPHREYS, South Korea — Seoul “should be fully prepared” for North Korean provocations in the event of a crisis between China and Taiwan, South Korea’s chief diplomat said this week.
Foreign Minister Park Jin, speaking to lawmakers Monday at a briefing for the Foreign and Unification Committee, said North Korea may engage in provocative behavior and exacerbate a potential crisis in the Taiwan Strait.
“Peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait is very important for the peace and stability of our Korean Peninsula,” Park said. “Therefore, we would like to continue to work together with the U.S. while firmly maintaining the [South Korea]-U.S. alliance.”
So far this year, North Korea has carried out 40-plus missile tests, aerial sorties, artillery fire and prepped for a nuclear test — behavior officials in the South describe as provocative.
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un watches a missile launch in this image released by the state-run Korean Central News Agency on Oct. 10, 2022. (KCNA)
South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol, during a live-streamed speech Tuesday at the National Assembly hall in Seoul, reiterated that the North has completed preparations for its seventh nuclear test, its first since 2017.
Yoon told CNN in September that North Korea could increase its provocations if China attacked Taiwan. The “top priority” in that scenario, he said, would be the “robust” alliance between Washington and Seoul.
Chinese President Xi Jinping, addressing the 20th National Congress of the Communist Party of China on Saturday, said Beijing is “resolutely opposing and deterring separatists" who seek Taiwan's independence.
“We should take resolute steps to oppose ‘Taiwan independence’ and promote reunification, maintain the initiative and the ability to steer in cross-Strait relations and unswervingly advance the cause of national reunification,” Xi said, according to a transcript from China’s Foreign Ministry.
The commander of U.S. Forces Korea and U.N. Command, Army Gen. Paul LaCamera, said in September that the U.S. military should examine the “second- and third-order effects” of a China-Taiwan conflict on U.S. troops in South Korea. USFK has about 28,500 troops on the peninsula.
LaCamera, speaking during a panel discussion hosted by the U.S.-based Institute for Corean-American Studies, declined to speak more specifically.
“What starts local becomes regional and global pretty quickly,” he said, adding that “there could be impacts here, and I think we have to be prepared for them.”
Three days after LaCamera’s remarks, South Korean Vice Minister of National Defense Shin Beom Chul said Seoul and Washington have not discussed deploying U.S. troops from South Korea to Taiwan, according to an MBC Radio interview.
Stars and Stripes · by David Choi · October 25, 2022
7. US vows full military defense of allies against North Korea
US vows full military defense of allies against North Korea
By MARI YAMAGUCHI
today
https://apnews.com/article/technology-japan-united-states-tokyo-south-korea-7397d3c81ecc6ceff76a4f0ffe25ec24
TOKYO (AP) — The United States will make full use of its military capabilities, “including nuclear, conventional and missile defense,” to defend its allies Japan and South Korea, U.S. Deputy Secretary of State Wendy Sherman said Tuesday as she warned North Korea against escalating its provocations.
Sherman said North Korea’s repeated firings of ballistic missiles and artillery in recent weeks were provocative military actions. North Korea has described them as practice runs for the use of tactical nuclear weapons.
“This is deeply irresponsible, dangerous, and destabilizing,” Sherman said in talks in Tokyo with South Korean First Vice Foreign Minister Cho Hyundong. The two officials met ahead of a three-way meeting with their Japanese counterpart on Wednesday.
It would be the second in-person meeting of the three officials since conservative South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol took office in May, signaling an improvement in difficult ties between Japan and South Korea. A year ago, Japanese and South Korean vice ministers declined to participate in a joint news conference after three-way talks in Washington, leaving Sherman to make a solo media appearance.
Sherman said North Korea needs to understand that the U.S. commitment to the security of South Korea and Japan is “ironclad.”
“And we will use the full range of U.S. defense capabilities to defend our allies, including nuclear, conventional and missile defense capabilities,” she said.
Cho, during his talks with Sherman, raised concern that a new North Korean nuclear weapons policy adopted in September increases the possibility of its arbitrary use of nuclear weapons.
“This is creating serious tension on the Korean Peninsula,” Cho said.
Sherman met earlier Tuesday with Japanese Vice Foreign Minister Takeo Mori and reaffirmed the further strengthening of the Japan-U.S. alliance and other shared goals, including the complete denuclearization of North Korea and their joint response to China’s increasingly assertive actions in the region.
Japanese Defense Minister Yasukazu Hamada recently said North Korea is believed to have achieved a miniaturization of nuclear warheads while significantly advancing its missile capabilities by diversifying its launch technologies, making interceptions more difficult.
Japanese officials have also warned of a possible nuclear test by North Korea in the near future.
The Japanese and South Korean officials met together later Tuesday and discussed ways to improve their countries’ ties, which were badly strained over disagreements stemming from Japanese wartime actions, including abuse of Korean forced laborers and coercing girls and young women to work in brothels for Japanese soldiers.
___
This story corrects the given name of South Korean First Vice Foreign Minister Cho to Hyundong, not Hyungdong.
8. US very much focused on human rights conditions in N. Korea: State Dept.
Human rights must not be confused with poor humanitarian conditions. Those conditions are symptoms of a deliberate denial of human rights by the Kim family regime. We need to call out Kim for the human rights abuses and not simply the poor humanritan conditions.
US very much focused on human rights conditions in N. Korea: State Dept.
The Korea Times · October 26, 2022
Department of State Press Secretary Ned Price is seen answering a question in a daily press briefing at the department in Washington in this image captured from the department's website, Oct. 25. Yonhap
The United States is very much focused on improving human rights conditions in North Korea, a state department spokesperson said Tuesday, calling it a serious challenge.
Ned Price, however, said he had no announcements to make when asked if the U.S. would appoint a special envoy for North Korean human rights, a position that has remained vacant for nearly six years.
"When it comes to human rights in North Korea, of course, it is something that we are deeply concerned with," he said when asked about the issue in a daily press briefing.
"The challenge that is posed by the DPRK's nuclear weapons and ballistic missile programs are not the only threat that emanates from North Korea ... its abysmal treatment of its own people is something that we are deeply concerned about," the spokesperson added.
DPRK stands for the North's official name, the Democratic People's Republic of Korea.
Price said he had no "personnel announcements to make today" when asked about possible appointment of a special envoy, but insisted the U.S. continues to work on the issue.
"There are people in this building and a number of bureaus, including in our East Asian and Pacific Affairs bureau but also in our Bureau of Democracy, Rights and Labor who are very focused on this," he said.
The department spokesperson reaffirmed the possibility of a North Korean nuclear test when asked.
"It has been our assessment for some time now that the North Koreans are in a position to conduct a nuclear test, which would be their seventh nuclear test, really at any point," Price told the briefing.
He stressed that there will be consequences for the North should it conduct a nuclear test, but also said the U.S. continues to remain open to dialogue with Pyongyang.
"We have sought to send a very clear message that is emanating not only from Washington but from capitals around the world that there will be consequences for a seventh nuclear test," said Price.
"Just as we have been consistently making the point that we harbor no hostile intent towards the DPRK. In fact, we believe that diplomacy remains the best means by which to bring about what is our ultimate objective and that is denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula," he added. (Yonhap)
The Korea Times · October 26, 2022
9. US midterm election results could complicate denuclearization of North Korea: expert
It is actually only Kim Jong Un who "complicates" denuclearization.
US midterm election results could complicate denuclearization of North Korea: expert
The Korea Times · October 26, 2022
Former U.S. president Donald Trump speaks during a rally in Robstown, Texas, Oct. 22. Reuters-Yonhap
'Diplomacy works only when Pyongyang is trying to move away from China, Russia'
By Jung Min-ho
South Korea should prepare for a United States controlled by more isolationists and skeptics regarding American intervention in foreign affairs as Washington braces for a major Republican win in the upcoming midterm elections, according to a security expert on Northeast Asia.
The projected results of the Nov. 8 elections are about to bring new challenges to Northeast Asia, where the U.S.-China rivalry is intensifying and North Korea is speeding up the development of its nuclear weapons despite international outcry. Recent polls show that the conservative U.S. party will take control of the House and possibly win the Senate as well.
"Many of the Republicans today are more isolationists and less internationalists than they used to be. That's reflected most recently in signs that, if the Republicans retake the House, they are not going be so open to continue aid to Ukraine. No one is saying anything about our South Korea alliance, but it is certainly a trend in the wrong direction," Joel Wit, founder of 38 North, a website devoted to analysis about North Korea, said at Wednesday's forum hosted by The Korea Times. "If you look forward to the next presidential election, there is always a possibility that [former President] Donald Trump will come back and he's not a big fan of our alliances overseas ... Other Republican candidates may not as be as enthusiastic about American ties with overseas countries."
Previously, a similar warning came from former U.S. Secretary of Defense Mark Esper, who said in his memoir that Trump had kept the plan of pulling U.S. troops completely out of South Korea as his second-term priority.
Some U.S. politicians, including those predicted to become new members of the House, say they will block aid to Ukraine. How is it going to affect the war? How will the consequences affect North Korea, Russia's ally, and the prospects of its nuclear weapons? These are some of the questions South Koreans should ask themselves and prepare for, according to Wit.
Decades of international efforts to keep North Korea from developing nuclear arsenals have failed. It is now estimated to be on the verge of conducting its seventh nuclear weapons test.
Joel Wit, a security expert on Northeast Asia and the founder of 38 North, speaks during his online presentation at the Korea Times Forum, "New Challenges for Korea-U.S. Alliance," in Seoul, Wednesday. Korea Times photo by Choi Won-suk Wit believes the denuclearization of North Korea is still possible through diplomacy, but only if the U.S. tries to achieve it from a long-term perspective.
"To put it simply, diplomacy with Pyongyang only has a chance of working with North Korea trying to move away from those countries (China and Russia). That's been the case over the past 25 years. The problem is there is no sign of any interest on the part of North Korea," he said.
The only way to encourage North Korea to move away from the two nations is to transform its relationship with the U.S. fundamentally so that North Korea sees it as more valuable and beneficial.
"We have done that in the past, although we haven't put enough emphasis on that. We can certainly try it in the future, although there's no guarantee. But focusing on details rather than the big picture is a prescription for disaster," Wit said.
If left unresolved, the nuclear-armed North is expected to accelerate two concerning trends. One is a growing geopolitical division ― North Korea, China and Russia versus South Korea, the U.S. and Japan. The other is an accelerating arms race in the region.
"We are all familiar with North Korea's WMD program and how it's growing. And there are counter-steps taken by South Korea and Japan to deal with that and also to deal with growing threats from China. On top of all of that, all the countries in the region are moving into new technologies that are only going to aggravate the growing uncertainty," Wit said.
He warned all this is raising the possibility of instability or even war due to some kind of miscommunication or miscalculation.
"Where will Northeast Asia be in five years if these trends continue? What I would say is that chances of denuclearization in the region … will go down dramatically and chances of nuclearization in the region spreading to all the countries will probably increase dramatically," Wit said. "I think it's a very disturbing picture. That's the Northeast Asia we want to avoid. We start now to figure out how to avoid that and not wait five years."
The Korea Times · October 26, 2022
10. Korea-US alliance affects all countries: envoys
Excerpts:
"The strength of the Korea-U.S. alliance in every sphere is key for all of us, and is very important for the success of Israel-Korea relations as well," Israeli Ambassador to Korea Akiva Tor said. "The strategic and economic stability of this region (East Asia) impacts our own strategic concerns in the Middle East in predictable and unpredictable ways, and hence we follow Northeast Asia closely and with interest."
...
Brazilian Ambassador to Korea Marcia Donner Abreu agreed that a strong alliance between Korea and the U.S. in both economic and political aspects is in the interest of her country, explaining that Brazil and the U.N. Security Council have consistently spoken for the immediate cessation of North Korea's missile tests and in favor of denuclearization.
Korea-US alliance affects all countries: envoys
The Korea Times · October 26, 2022
Brazilian Ambassador to Korea Marcia Donner Abreu attends the Korea Times Forum on the Korea-U.S. Alliance at the Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry headquarters in downtown Seoul, Wednesday. Korea Times photo by Choi Won-suk By Lee Hae-rin
Envoys who participated in The Korea Times Forum on Wednesday said that the Korea-U.S. alliance is much more than a bilateral issue between the two countries and related to more than peace and stability in East Asia, noting that many other countries are also affected by the nature of Korea-U.S. ties.
"The strength of the Korea-U.S. alliance in every sphere is key for all of us, and is very important for the success of Israel-Korea relations as well," Israeli Ambassador to Korea Akiva Tor said. "The strategic and economic stability of this region (East Asia) impacts our own strategic concerns in the Middle East in predictable and unpredictable ways, and hence we follow Northeast Asia closely and with interest."
The Israeli envoy's remarks indicate that the role of the Korea-U.S. alliance goes far beyond maintaining peace and security on the Korean Peninsula alone, as the two countries exert an influence on Israel.
Ukrainian Ambassador to Korea Dmytro Ponomarenko, from left, speaks with International Organization for Migration Chief of Mission to Korea Steve Hamilton, Israeli Ambassador Akiva Tor and Vietnamese Ambassador Nguyen Vu Tung. Korea Times photo by Choi Won-suk
Brazilian Ambassador to Korea Marcia Donner Abreu agreed that a strong alliance between Korea and the U.S. in both economic and political aspects is in the interest of her country, explaining that Brazil and the U.N. Security Council have consistently spoken for the immediate cessation of North Korea's missile tests and in favor of denuclearization.
During the forum, envoys from more than 20 countries attended and they intently listened to what the panelists said about economic security, global supply chain disruptions and the Korea-U.S. alliance. Divided into two sessions, Session 1 was about economic security and Session 2 was about the Korea-U.S. alliance in the Indo-Pacific region. Panelists exchanged their views on the prospects of global supply chain disruptions and the impact of the Korea-U.S. alliance on the region. The forum was conducted in a hybrid format with some participants joining sessions online.
Some envoys spoke positively about the event, saying the two sessions were very informative and that they learned a lot.
"This was an excellent panel and an excellent initiative that increased my understanding of all elements of the present challenges," Abreu said.
"On the security alliance in the Indo-Pacific, I believe that the panel contributed a lot to my understanding of the situation, which is certainly very complex, and which I will be following with great interest."
From left, Korea Network of Women in Finance Chairperson Kim Sang-kyung, Swiss Ambassador Dagmar Schmidt Tartagli and Deputy Head of Mission at Australian Embassy Alexandra Siddall attend the VIP session of the Korea Times Forum. Korea Times photo by Choi Won-suk
Australian diplomat Alexandra Siddall also said that she learned a lot.
"It was a huge range of views with a great degree of agreement on the strategic challenges," said Siddall, the minister and deputy head of mission at the Embassy of Australia in Seoul. "If we're going to transform our economies … and increase regional security and stability, I think what was made clear from today was that we're going to need allies like Australia, the U.S. and Korea to work together in a way to assure that we have a transparent and rule-based system."
Ambassador of Switzerland to Korea Dagmar Schmidt Tartagli presented a similar view, saying that she found the discussion open and informative. "I learned a lot of different views and I appreciate it," she said. "I thought it was very interesting also that they didn't only center on economic security or political security but also connected the two themes and gave possible answers to it."
The Korea Times · October 26, 2022
11. Korea, US work as a team to thwart North Korean threats: Yoon
Korea, US work as a team to thwart North Korean threats: Yoon
The Korea Times · by 2022-10-26 17:00 | Politics · October 26, 2022
Principal Deputy National Security Advisor Kim Tae-hyo reads President Yoon Suk-yeol's message during The Korea Times Forum, themed "New Challenges for Korea-U.S. Alliance," at the Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry in Seoul, Wednesday. Korea Times photo by Choi Won-suk
At Korea Times Forum, president says US commitment to extended deterrence to protect South Korea is rock solid
By Nam Hyun-woo
President Yoon Suk-yeol said on Wednesday that South Korea and the United States will work as a team, like a living organism, to respond to growing threats from North Korea.
"South Korea and the U.S. will mobilize every available measure for an overwhelming and resolved response to all types of North Korea's nuclear or missile threats, and during that process they will work as a team to actively and swiftly thwart North Korean threats," he said in a speech at The Korea Times forum, "New Challenges for Korea-U.S. Alliance," held at the Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry building in Seoul.
Principal Deputy National Security Advisor Kim Tae-hyo read the speech on behalf of the president,
Yoon said that he and U.S. President Joe Biden have discussed the enhanced combined defense capability between the two countries as one of the most important agendas during several meetings they had, noting that the U.S. promised to provide extended deterrence to protect South Korea from North Korean threats.
"The Korea-US alliance's deterrence of North Korea will be further strengthened, which in turn will help protect the lives and safety of our citizens and serve as a linchpin for peace and prosperity," he said.
Yoon made the remarks amid heightened threats from North Korea as the reclusive state launched artillery rounds and conducted air drills and nuclear-capable missile tests.
Regarding the global supply chain disruptions, Yoon said cooperation among countries based on mutual trust will help stabilize the supply chain and ensure sustainable prosperity.
Yoon said the South Korea-U.S. alliance goes beyond a bilateral alliance, noting that it can be a platform for global peace and prosperity. The president also pledged that Seoul will live up to its commitment to the international community by expanding development assistance.
Korea Times Chairman Seung Myung-ho delivers his opening remarks during The Korea Times Forum, themed "New Challenges for Korea-U.S. Alliance," at the Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry in Seoul, Wednesday. Korea Times photo by Choi Won-suk
During the forum, Korea Times Chairman Seung Myung-ho noted that the global geopolitical risks are growing and aggravating the economic circumstances facing South Korea.
"Consumer prices and interest rates are rising, and the global supply chain is facing challenges in every corner of the world, aggravating the circumstances for businesses," Seung said. "With tensions ever increasing on the Korean Peninsula and uncertainties amplifying in and outside of the country, the Korea-U.S. alliance has become more important than ever before."
Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Economy and Finance Choo Kyung-ho said in his keynote speech that the alliance has been upgraded to an economic security alliance because the focus of the global supply chain has moved from efficiency and international distribution to stability and economic security, in the wake of rising geopolitical risks and reductions in international liquidity.
Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Economy and Finance Choo Kyung-ho delivers his keynote speech during The Korea Times Forum, themed "New Challenges for Korea-U.S. Alliance," at the Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry in Seoul, Wednesday. Korea Times photo by Choi Won-suk
The Korea Times forum explored issues related to economic security and the Korea-U.S. alliance.
In Session 1, experts presented their ideas about Korea-U.S. tech cooperation in the areas of semi-conductors and the auto industry and possible risks and opportunities. Moderated by James Kim, president of the American Chamber of Commerce in Korea, Institute of Foreign Affairs and National Security Professor Lee Hyo-young, Chung-Ang University Professor Lee Seung-joo and Yulchon LLC Attorney Shin Tong-chan shared their views on the impact of economic security.
In Session 2, moderated by RAND Corporation policy analyst Soo Kim, former U.S. special envoy to the six party talks, Joseph DeTrani, former Korean envoy to the six party talks, Wi Sung-lac, and Pusan National University Professor Robert Kelly exchanged their views on North Korea's provocations and their impact on the Korea-U.S. alliance.
Over 100 participants, including foreign diplomats based in Seoul, think tank experts, chief executives of financial companies and businesses attended the forum.
The Korea Times · by 2022-10-26 17:00 | Politics · October 26, 2022
12. Deputy NIS director resigns for 'personal' reasons
(2nd LD) Deputy NIS director resigns for 'personal' reasons | Yonhap News Agency
en.yna.co.kr · by 이해아 · October 26, 2022
(ATTN: UPDATES throughout with presidential official's remarks)
SEOUL, Oct. 26 (Yonhap) -- Jo Sang-jun, a deputy director of the National Intelligence Service (NIS) who is considered a confidant of President Yoon Suk-yeol, has resigned for personal reasons, officials said Wednesday, prompting questions as to why he quit only months after taking office.
Jo tendered his resignation with the presidential secretary in charge on Tuesday and Yoon accepted the offer the same day, according to his office.
The quick succession of events, including the fact that Jo reported first to the presidential office and not to NIS Director Kim Kyou-hyun, led to reports that Jo had clashed with Kim over personnel issues or had health problems.
Questions also arose over why he resigned a day before he was due to attend a parliamentary audit of his agency.
"He expressed his intention to resign for personal reasons and it was accepted," a presidential official told reporters. "Because it was a personal reason, we will not disclose further."
A former senior prosecutor, Jo is known as one of Yoon's close aides, along with Justice Minister Han Dong-hoon.
He was appointed to the NIS post in June.
Rumors also swirled that Jo may have been caught drunk driving or involved in an irregularity.
"I think it's very inappropriate to answer based on rumors," the presidential official said when asked if he could confirm.
mlee@yna.co.kr
(END)
en.yna.co.kr · by 이해아 · October 26, 2022
13. U.S. has no plan to change defense posture in Indo-Pacific: Pentagon spokesperson
Just wait until we propose a new Northeast Asia or Far Eastern Combatant Command in Korea, US Northeast Asia AAmbassador In Tokyo, and Northeast Asia Economic Engagement Center in Taipei. A real pivot to Asia cannot just be military.
Still working on the paper.
U.S. has no plan to change defense posture in Indo-Pacific: Pentagon spokesperson | Yonhap News Agency
en.yna.co.kr · by 변덕근 · October 26, 2022
By Byun Duk-kun
WASHINGTON, Oct. 25 (Yonhap) -- The United States has no immediate plans to adjust its defense posture in the Indo-Pacific, a Pentagon spokesperson said Tuesday, amid speculation that North Korea may soon conduct a nuclear test.
Brig. Gen. Pat Ryder also underscored that the U.S. has no plans to deploy strategic assets such as tactical nuclear weapons to the region.
"I don't have anything to announce today in regards to any changes in force posture," the spokesman said.
"As you know we do maintain a robust presence in the Indo-Pacific region, (We) continue to work very closely with our allies and partners to ensure that our security relationships and our commitments continue to be in place," he added.
The remarks come one day after Department of State spokesperson Ned Price said the U.S. is prepared to make "both short- and longer-term adjustments to our military posture as appropriate" to respond to North Korean provocations, including a nuclear test.
Price reaffirmed the possibility of a North Korean nuclear test on Tuesday, saying, "It has been our assessment for some time now that the North Koreans are in a position to conduct a nuclear test, which would be their seventh nuclear test, really at any point."
North Korea conducted its sixth nuclear test in September 2017.
Ryder dismissed the possibility of the U.S. deploying strategic assets in response to a potential nuclear test when asked.
"I think we have a long standing relationship with the Republic of Korea, with our allies and partners in the region to include Japan, and we will continue to work closely with them to ensure that there's a strong deterrent so that we can not get to the point of any type of conflict," he said, referring to South Korea by its official name.
bdk@yna.co.kr
(END)
en.yna.co.kr · by 변덕근 · October 26, 2022
De Oppresso Liber,
David Maxwell
Senior Fellow, Foundation for Defense of Democracies
Senior Fellow, Global Peace Foundation
Senior Advisor, Center for Asia Pacific Strategy
Editor, Small Wars Journal
Twitter: @davidmaxwell161
Phone: 202-573-8647
email: david.maxwell161@gmail.com
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