Quotes of the Day:

“The sad truth is that most evil is done by people who never make up their minds to be good or evil.” 

- Hannah Arendt

“Book give a soul to the universe, wings to the mind, flight to the imagination, and life to everything.” 

- Plato

“And last are the few whose delight is in meditation and understanding; who yearn not for goods, nor for victory, but for knowledge; who leave both market and battlefield to lose themselves in the quiet clarity of secluded thought; whose will is a light rather than a fire, whose haven is not power but truth: these are the men of wisdom, who stand aside unused by the world.”

- Will Durant, The Story of Philosophy: The Lives and Opinions of the World's Greatest Philosophers

1.  Pentagon chief stresses 'unwavering' security commitment to S. Korea, reassures full 'extended deterrence'

2. As NATO reaches out to Asia, China and North Korea warn it's going too far

3. Austin reaffirms U.S. commitment, suggests more F-35 visits

4. North Korea may have tested a solid-fuel rocket engine

5. N. Korea seems to be wary of possible resurgence of COVID-19: Seoul ministry

6. South Korea, US to expand size and content of joint military drills

7. Nuclear envoys of S. Korea, Japan hold consultations on N.K. provocations

8. Arrest looms for accused operators of North Korean spy ring

9. Calls for nuclear buildup a chance to widen debate, experts say

10. NK slams NATO chief's Seoul visit as 'prelude to war'

11. Promise and Perils for the Japan-South Korea-US Trilateral in 2023

12. US House resolution seeks to denounce socialism, N. Korean leaders

13. U.S., South Korea to Step Up Nuclear Deterrence Efforts Against North Korea

1. Pentagon chief stresses 'unwavering' security commitment to S. Korea, reassures full 'extended deterrence'

There should be no question about the US commitment but I understand why there is. 

Excerpts:

"Our commitment to the defense of the ROK remains ironclad, and the United States stands firm in its extended deterrence commitment," he said, referring to South Korea by its official name, the Republic of Korea.

"That includes the full range of U.S. defense capabilities, including our conventional, nuclear and missile defense capabilities. Now, we have 28,500 uniformed personnel in South Korea ... This shows our unwavering commitment," he added.

​The reality is that north Korea cannot be denuclearized as long as the Kim family regime is in power.​ We need to flip the conventional wisdom and pursue a free and unified Korea that will lead to denuclearization.  The real message to "both" Korea (there is really only one) is that the only acce[table durable political arrangement that will bring peace, prosperity, and security to the Korean peninsula is this: “A stable, secure, peaceful, economically vibrant, non-nuclear peninsula, reunified under a liberal constitutional form of government determined by the Korean people. ”  E.g., a free and unified Korea - a United Republic of Korea (UROK). See our new proposed strategy HERE.

Excerpts:

In an apparent message to both Koreas, Austin stressed the goal of the "denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula."

"The U.S. and the ROK are committed to the denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula, and we've long been that way," he said.

He added Washington's repetitive mantra of the "ironclad" security commitment is "not just a slogan." "It is what we're all about," he said.

(3rd LD) Pentagon chief stresses 'unwavering' security commitment to S. Korea, reassures full 'extended deterrence' | Yonhap News Agency

en.yna.co.kr · by 송상호 · January 31, 2023

(ATTN: UPDATES with more details in paras 11, 14-19; ADDS photo)

By Song Sang-ho and Chae Yun-hwan

SEOUL, Jan. 31 (Yonhap) -- U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin on Tuesday highlighted America's "ironclad" and "unwavering" security commitment to South Korea, as some raise doubts about Washington's "extended deterrence" commitment for the key ally amid evolving North Korean threats.

He said there would be more frequent deployments of such high-profile U.S. strategic assets as advanced stealth jets and aircraft carriers to Korea, speaking at a joint press conference with his South Korean counterpart, Lee Jong-sup, following bilateral talks in Seoul.

"Our commitment to the defense of the ROK remains ironclad, and the United States stands firm in its extended deterrence commitment," he said, referring to South Korea by its official name, the Republic of Korea.

"That includes the full range of U.S. defense capabilities, including our conventional, nuclear and missile defense capabilities. Now, we have 28,500 uniformed personnel in South Korea ... This shows our unwavering commitment," he added.

U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin speaks during a joint press conference with his South Korean counterpart, Lee Jong-sup, at the defense ministry in Seoul on Jan. 31, 2023. (Pool photo) (Yonhap)

His remarks came after North Korean leader Kim Jong-un publicly called for an "exponential" increase in his country's nuclear arsenal and named the South an "undoubted" enemy at a December ruling party meeting.

Kim's rhetoric has added to a debate over whether the South should develop its own nuclear weapons or request the U.S.' redeployment of tactical nuclear arms to the Korean Peninsula.

In an apparent message to both Koreas, Austin stressed the goal of the "denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula."

"The U.S. and the ROK are committed to the denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula, and we've long been that way," he said.

He added Washington's repetitive mantra of the "ironclad" security commitment is "not just a slogan." "It is what we're all about," he said.

As a vivid example of the U.S. commitment, the Pentagon chief recalled last year's deployment here of America's fifth-generation fighter jets, like F-22 and F-35 radar-evading fighter jets, and of an aircraft strike group.

"You can look for more of that kind of activity going forward," he said.

He also mentioned the allies' plan to hold table-top exercises to sharpen deterrence.

"We want to make sure that no stone is left unturned," he said.

The South Korean minister also said he agreed with Austin on expanding the scale and intensity of the allies' combined military drills so as to realize "peace through strength."

Austin reiterated the importance of three-way security partnerships involving Japan.

"Let me underscore our mutual belief that trilateral cooperation with Japan enhances all of our security," he said.

During their talks, Lee and Austin highlighted their commitment to facilitating the trilateral sharing of missile warning data in accordance with a summit agreement by the leaders of the South, the U.S. and Japan last November.

To that end, the two sides agreed to hold the Defense Trilateral talks, a senior-level meeting among the three nations, "at the earliest opportunity."

The allies' defense chiefs also "strongly" condemned the North's continued provocations, including recent drone incursions, according to their joint press release.

Lee and Austin had their last bilateral in-person talks at the annual Security Consultative Meeting at the Pentagon last November.

The Pentagon chief arrived here on Monday on a regional swing that will also take him to the Philippines.

South Korean Defense Minister Lee Jong-sup (R) shakes hands with his U.S. counterpart, Lloyd Austin, before their talks at the defense ministry in Seoul on Jan. 31, 2023, in this photo released by Lee's office. (PHOTO NOT FOR SALE) (Yonhap)

sshluck@yna.co.kr

(END)

en.yna.co.kr · by 송상호 · January 31, 2023

2. As NATO reaches out to Asia, China and North Korea warn it's going too far

Because the China-north Korea alliance cannot stand up to all the alliances that exist around the world which could counter it.

If I were advising the GEC I would build on this. I think a number of important themes and messages could be developed from this.

As NATO reaches out to Asia, China and North Korea warn it's going too far

Newsweek · by Tom O'Connor · January 30, 2023

NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg received a warm reception upon his arrival Sunday in South Korea, the first leg of a two-nation tour that also included fellow U.S. ally Japan.

But a far colder reaction came from China and North Korea, two nations whose officials emphasized on Monday that a growing military footprint of the U.S.-led alliance was not welcome in the Asia-Pacific region.

Speaking Monday at the Chey Institute for Advanced Studies in Seoul, Stoltenberg addressed the Western bloc's growing focus on China, saying that, although NATO does not "regard China as an adversary" and engagement was sought on issues such as arms control and climate change, the alliance believes "China poses a challenge to our values, to our interests and to our security." As such, he said that China has risen "much higher on the NATO agenda."

Reacting to these comments, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Mao Ning argued that "China is a cooperation partner of all countries, not a challenge" and it does "not pose a threat to any country's interests and security."

To the contrary, she said it was NATO that was raising concerns given its growing interests in regions far beyond its shores.

"While claiming to remain a regional defensive alliance, NATO has constantly gone beyond its traditional areas for defense, made advances into new domains, and strengthened military and security ties with Asia-Pacific countries," Mao said. "Such developments call for high vigilance among regional countries."

"We hope NATO can abandon the Cold War mentality and bloc confrontation mindset," she added, "and do things that will contribute to the security and stability of Europe and the wider world."

And as for other nations within the Asia-Pacific, she said that "we hope regional countries will stay committed to the right path of cooperation in the Asia-Pacific and play an active part in defending and promoting world peace, stability, development and prosperity."

North Korean Supreme Leader Kim Jong Un, left, delivers an address during a ceremony devoted to a new multiple launch rocket system on December 31, 2022, in North Korea, and Chinese President Xi Jinping, right, speaks at a meeting of the standing committee of the Political Bureau of the 20th Chinese Communist Party Central Committee in Beijing, China, on October 23, 2022. Lintao Zhang/Korean Central News Agency/Getty Images

Stoltenberg also addressed worries about North Korea, and whether NATO would intervene if a conflict were to erupt on the Korean Peninsula.

"I think I will be very careful about speculating about hypothetical situations," the NATO chief said, "but the message to Kim Jong Un in North Korea is that they're threatening rhetoric, but also a reckless program they have when it comes to missile programs and nuclear programs, is dangerous."

He also noted how NATO allies have "been very strong on calling on North Korea to follow and abide by all the U.N. Security Council resolutions" that forbid Pyongyang from pursuing missile tests and nuclear weapons development.

But North Korean Supreme Leader Kim Jong Un has only intensified his military moves over the past year, testing various kinds of rocket and missile platforms as cross-border incidents between the two Koreas spiked, raising tensions across the peninsula. China and Russia have also shot down efforts to impose new restrictions against North Korea at the U.N. Security Council, arguing that diplomacy was the only path toward de-escalation.

Kim's government hit out at Stoltenberg over his trip on Monday, with the North Korean Foreign Ministry publishing an article attributed to Kim Tong Myong, researcher of the Society for International Politics Study, titled: "Is the trip of the secretary general of NATO aimed to instigate the creation of the Asian version of NATO?"

"It is well known that NATO has long made persistent attempts to expand its sphere of influence limited to European defense to the Asia-Pacific region, which rose to be the strategic center of the world," the researcher wrote.

The researcher also accused the alliance of staging "bilateral and multilateral joint military exercises under various titles by introducing armed forces of its member states including aircraft carriers and fighters under the pretext of opposing the so-called 'change of status quo by force.'"

And the author pointed to South Korea and Japan as key parts of this strategy, highlighting NATO Military Committee Chair Admiral Rob Bauer's visits to the two countries in April and June of last year, as well as Seoul and Tokyo's first-ever participation in the NATO summit held in June in Spain. The article also pointed out how South Korea became a full member of NATO's Cooperative Cyber Defense Centre of Excellence in May and received a delegation from the NATO Parliamentary Assembly in October.

On the defense level, the article made note of South Korea's exports of weapons to Poland and Japan's agreement to jointly develop advanced fighter jets with Italy and the United Kingdom.

The researcher argued that this trend "clearly proves to what extent the NATO's sinister intention to use south Korea and Japan for expanding its influence has reached."

"It is the general orientation sought by the U.S.-led NATO to cook up Asian version NATO serving the maintenance of its hegemonic position and order in collusion with its vassal forces," the commentary stated. "It is quite natural that over the recent worrying moves of NATO, countries in the region have warned that NATO seeks to apply the method of collective confrontation in Asia-Pacific, which had already been used in Europe, and South Korea and Japan should not introduce NATO forces into the Asia-Pacific region."

NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg on Monday speaks at the Chey Institute for Advanced Studies in Seoul, South Korea. The leader of the U.S.-led military alliance set out on a tour of South Korea and Japan in a bid to strengthen ties with the two fellow U.S. allies in the Asia-Pacific. North Atlantic Treaty Organization

And, as North Korea denied U.S. accusations that it was sending weapons to Russia and its Wagner Group private military company for use in the war in Ukraine, the researcher wrote that it was only "a matter of time that the military hardware of South Korea and Japan flowing into NATO are seen in the Ukrainian battlefield."

Media reports dating to November suggested that South Korean ammunition supplied to the U.S. was already making its way to Ukraine, though they have been denied by Seoul. Stoltenberg, for his part, however, stated in Seoul that "there is an urgent need for more ammunition, more weapons to Ukraine."

The article carried a warning for both Seoul and Tokyo as well as NATO over the effort to strengthen East-West cooperation.

"South Korea and Japan trying to attend to their own business by inviting unbidden guests to the region should be well aware that they are getting closer to the extreme security crisis, far from defusing security uneasiness," the commentary said. "It will be nothing good if NATO, a synonym for war and confrontation, puts its military boots on the region."

Echoing the Chinese Foreign Ministry comments, the article warned that "the trip of the NATO secretary general to South Korea and Japan is a prelude to confrontation and war as it brings the dark clouds of a 'new Cold War' to the Asia-Pacific region."

It concluded that "regional countries and the international community should remain highly vigilant against the frequent footsteps of NATO toward Asia-Pacific."

Newsweek · by Tom O'Connor · January 30, 2023

3. Austin reaffirms U.S. commitment, suggests more F-35 visits

Excerpts:

Austin and Lee were meeting for the fourth time as defense chiefs on Tuesday. They last met during the regular defense ministerial dialogue the Security Consultative Meeting in the Pentagon. 

“The two ministers strongly condemned North Korea's series of provocations, including missile launches and recent drone infiltration, as well as violations of UN Security Council resolutions, and reaffirmed that they would respond sternly together with the international community to any provocations by North Korea in the future,” said the Ministry of National Defense in its statement Tuesday. 

They also agreed to complete their revision of the Tailored Deterrence Strategy before their next Security Consultative Meeting and to hold a tabletop exercise led by Deterrence Strategy Committee in February.

“Both leaders agreed to expand the scope and scale of combined field training exercises and to conduct a large-scale combined joint fires demonstration this year,” the Department of Defense said in its statement released following the meeting.

Tuesday

January 31, 2023

 dictionary + A - A 

Austin reaffirms U.S. commitment, suggests more F-35 visits

https://koreajoongangdaily.joins.com/2023/01/31/national/defense/korea-us-nuclear/20230131183032395.html

Korean Defense Minister Lee Jong-sup, right, shakes hands with U.S. Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin after their joint press briefing at the Ministry of National Defense in Seoul on Tuesday. [AP/YONHAP]

U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin confirmed that deterrence assets such as F-22 and F-35 fighter jets will continue to be deployed to South Korea to address security threats from the North.  

"The United States stands firm in its extended deterrence commitment, and that includes the full range of U.S. defense capabilities, including our conventional, nuclear and missile defense capabilities," Austin told the press after his meeting with Defense Minister Lee Jong-sup in Seoul on Tuesday.

"Make no mistake, the United States stands united with the ROK, and together we condemn these dangerous actions which violate international law and threaten to destabilize the region," he added, referring to the recent military provocations from North Korea.

Austin's visit to Seoul, which was his first since December 2021, comes on the heels of weapons tests by North Korea, which fired over 90 missiles last year.

It also came amid heightened public debate on whether South Korea can trust the U.S. to provide extended deterrence against the North, and whether Seoul should seek its own nuclear capabilities. South Korea is a signatory to the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons, meaning it has agreed not to develop its own nuclear weapons.

Extended deterrence refers to the U.S. commitment to use all assets available, conventional and nuclear, to defend South Korea. 

In a meeting with Austin later on Tuesday, President Yoon Suk Yeol called for "a strong and effective" extended deterrence from the United States.

"As the North Korean nuclear threat continues to escalate day by day, we are in need of an effective and strong U.S.-ROK extended deterrence system to dispel the concerns of the Korean public," Yoon said in the meeting, according to Kim Eun-hye, senior presidential secretary for press affairs. 

He also called for continued implementation of Korea-U.S. joint military training, adding that he "highly appreciated" the bilateral plan to conduct the Freedom Shield joint exercise before the end of June this year without interruption for 11 days.

In response to a question from the press on what kind of U.S. deterrents should be expected in South Korea this year, Austin referred to previously deployed F-22 and F-35 fighter jets and the nuclear-powered USS Ronald Reagan in stating that similar assets would continue to be deployed.

Austin and Lee were meeting for the fourth time as defense chiefs on Tuesday. They last met during the regular defense ministerial dialogue the Security Consultative Meeting in the Pentagon. 

“The two ministers strongly condemned North Korea's series of provocations, including missile launches and recent drone infiltration, as well as violations of UN Security Council resolutions, and reaffirmed that they would respond sternly together with the international community to any provocations by North Korea in the future,” said the Ministry of National Defense in its statement Tuesday. 

They also agreed to complete their revision of the Tailored Deterrence Strategy before their next Security Consultative Meeting and to hold a tabletop exercise led by Deterrence Strategy Committee in February.

“Both leaders agreed to expand the scope and scale of combined field training exercises and to conduct a large-scale combined joint fires demonstration this year,” the Department of Defense said in its statement released following the meeting.

A trilateral meeting with Japan on regional security, the Defense Trilateral Talks, will be hosted “at the earliest opportunity,” the department said.

“The two leaders committed to following up on developing specific courses of action to facilitate trilateral sharing of missile warning data, as agreed by the three countries' leaders at the November 2022 Phnom Penh Summit.”

BY ESTHER CHUNG [chung.juhee@joongang.co.kr]

4. North Korea may have tested a solid-fuel rocket engine

Obviously if this system becomes operational it will be a game changer.

Tuesday

January 31, 2023

 dictionary + A - A 

North Korea may have tested a solid-fuel rocket engine

https://koreajoongangdaily.joins.com/2023/01/31/national/northKorea/Korea-solidfuel-missile-solidfuel-engine/20230131185512539.html

A solid-fuel engine for a "new-type strategic weapons system" is tested on Dec. 15 in this footage broadcast by Pyongyang's state-controlled Korean Central News Television (KCTV). [YONHAP]

Pyongyang may have tested a solid-fuel missile engine earlier this week, according to an analysis of recent satellite images of a testing site in the North.  

While the test was not reported by North Korea’s state-controlled media, it would mark the first weapons test by the regime since its short-range ballistic missile launch on Jan. 1.

Satellite images taken by Planet Labs that was released on Monday by the James Martin Center for Nonproliferation Studies at the California-based Middlebury Institute of International Studies show a blackened field at the Magun-po missile engine testing site in Hamju County, South Hamgyong Province.

The center’s report concluded the test, likely to be that of a solid-fuel engine, took place between 10:53 a.m. on Sunday and 9:03 a.m. on Monday, based on the difference between photos taken at those times.

The photo taken on Monday shows a trail of charred earth that starts at the end of the engine test stand and extends in the shape of a long trumpet that reaches 120 meters (393 feet) in length.

The engine test stand at Magun-po is positioned horizontally, and not straight down into the ground.

The center’s report noted that the scorched, exposed ground stood in sharp contrast to its surrounding area, which remained covered in snow.

Pyongyang’s state-controlled Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) previously reported that “an important institute under the Academy of Defense Science succeeded in the static firing test of high-thrust solid-fuel motor” for a “new-type strategic weapons system” at the Sohae Satellite Launching Ground in North Pyongan Province on Dec. 15.

North Korea’s Hwasong-17 intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM), which has the longest range of all the known missiles in the regime’s arsenal, uses liquid fuel, which typically needs to be loaded into the missile at the launch site before it can be fired — a time-consuming process that makes the weapon easier to find and destroy.

Solid-fuel missiles can remain in storage for an extended period, allowing them to be deployed and launched in a shorter time frame.

Although the North has previously tested numerous solid-fuel missiles, including the short-range KN-23, KN-24 and Pukguksong series, it has yet to launch a solid-fuel ICBM.

At a Pyongyang military parade in April 2022, the North rolled out a new solid-fuel missile alongside the Hwasong-17.

The missile resembled the Pukguksong-5 and Pukguksong-4, two types within the Pukguksong series that have not yet been test-fired by North Korea. 

BY MICHAEL LEE [lee.junhyuk@joongang.co.kr]

5. N. Korea seems to be wary of possible resurgence of COVID-19: Seoul ministry

Beware the COVID paradox in north Korea. A COVID outbreak could be devastating. A COVID outbreak among the military could be catastrophic.

north Korea’s COVID Paradox

•No reported cases for 2 years – Outbreak (May 2022) and then Over (July 2022)?

–Assessment: highly unlikely

–Myriad reports from inside about quarantine camps and outbreaks among military

•Kim exploiting COVID to oppress, repress, and suppress

–Close borders, hinder markets, seize foreign currency, stop movement, information crackdown

•“Arduous March” – Great Famine of 1994-1996

–Estimated possibly 3 million perished

–“Saved” by ROK Sunshine policy (and $billions in aid from 1997-2007)

–Development of 400+ markets - resilient women taking care of families

•Comparison –a COVID outbreak could be far worse

–Made worse by Kim’s policy decisions to exploit the situation to keep a stranglehold on the people to sustain power

•Regime Collapse: loss of central governing effectiveness by the party combined with loss of coherency and support of the military

N. Korea seems to be wary of possible resurgence of COVID-19: Seoul ministry | Yonhap News Agency

en.yna.co.kr · by 김수연 · January 31, 2023

SEOUL, Jan. 31 (Yonhap) -- North Korea appears to remain wary of a possible resurgence in COVID-19 cases amid news reports that the North has recently lifted a dayslong lockdown in Pyongyang over respiratory diseases, South Korea's unification ministry said Tuesday.

The North is apparently cautious about a flare-up in COVID-19 cases, given the country's main newspaper Rodong Sinmun has recently carried reports stressing the need to place the top policy priority on strengthening quarantine efforts, according to the ministry handling inter-Korean affairs.

North Korea has notified diplomatic missions in Pyongyang of its decision to lift a five-day lockdown in the capital area from Monday, according to Russia's embassy in the North.

The North's foreign ministry earlier sent foreign diplomatic corps a notice about the implementation of a "special" five-day quarantine period, effective from last Wednesday, citing an increase in patients with seasonal flu and other respiratory diseases.

"The North's state media outlets have not carried any official related reports," a ministry official told reporters, when asked about details of the lockdown.

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un declared victory against the COVID-19 crisis in August last year after the country reported its first case in May. Outside experts raised doubts about his claim, given the country's low vaccination rate and poor health care system.

This file photo, carried by North Korea's official Korean Central News Agency on June 7, 2022, shows quarantine officials carrying out disinfection work. (For Use Only in the Republic of Korea. No Redistribution) (Yonhap)

sooyeon@yna.co.kr

(END)

en.yna.co.kr · by 김수연 · January 31, 2023

6. South Korea, US to expand size and content of joint military drills

Regardless of the policy and strategy you advocate; from denuclearization to a free and unified Korea, to engagement, to making concessions for talks to appeasement, they all must rest on the foundation of deterrence and defense. It appears to me the ROK/US alliance is focusing heavily on deterrence and readiness and I think that is the right thing to do.

I think the announcement of the event in October in conjunction with the 70th anniversary of the Mutual Defense treaty is unprecedented.

Excerpt:

Austin said the U.S.' key strategic military assets, such as advanced stealth jets and aircraft carriers, will participate in their joint drills more frequently, announcing a plan to carry out a tabletop exercise organized by the allies' Deterrence Strategy Committee in February. He added there will be major joint live-fire drills before or after South Korea's Armed Forces Day (Oct. 1).

South Korea, US to expand size and content of joint military drills

The Korea Times · January 31, 2023

Defense Minister Lee Jong-sup, right, and his U.S. counterpart Lloyd Austin shake hands during a joint press conference after their meeting at the Defense Ministry in Seoul, Tuesday. AP-Yonhap 

Pentagon chief assures NATO-style security guarantee amid growing skepticism over extended deterrence against North Korea

By Jung Min-ho

South Korea and the United States agreed to expand the size and content of their combined military drills on Tuesday to counter intensifying security threats from North Korea amid growing skepticism here over Washington's commitment to provide extended deterrence.

At a meeting with his South Korean counterpart Lee Jong-sup in Seoul, U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin reassured that his country's "ironclad" commitment to the Asian ally will continue to underpin their relationship.

"Our commitment to the defense of the ROK (South Korea) remains ironclad, and the United States stands firm in its extended deterrence commitment," the Pentagon chief said. "That includes the full range of U.S. defense capabilities, including our conventional, nuclear and missile defense capabilities. Now, we have 28,500 uniformed personnel in South Korea ... This shows our unwavering commitment."

Austin said the U.S.' key strategic military assets, such as advanced stealth jets and aircraft carriers, will participate in their joint drills more frequently, announcing a plan to carry out a tabletop exercise organized by the allies' Deterrence Strategy Committee in February. He added there will be major joint live-fire drills before or after South Korea's Armed Forces Day (Oct. 1).

The announcement came a day after the release of a poll, conducted by the Chey Institute for Advanced Studies, which showed more than 76 percent of South Koreans support the idea of arming the country with its own nuclear weapons ― a troubling sign of the diminishing trust among South Koreans in the U.S.' security guarantee and growing fears of Pyongyang's nuclear capabilities.

Austin said the U.S.' goal of denuclearizing the Korean Peninsula remains the same.

"The U.S. and the ROK are committed to the denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula, and we've long been that way," he said. "We want to make sure that no stone is left unturned."

U.S. Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin, left, and his South Korean counterpart Lee Jong-sup attend a welcome ceremony at the Defense Ministry in Seoul, Tuesday, ahead of their meeting. Joint Press Corps 

Yet he refrained from mentioning the possibility of South Korea's development of its own nuclear weapons or of the deployment of U.S. nuclear weapons in the South ― an issue that has drawn a lot of attention recently from not just the public, but also politicians here.

President Yoon Suk Yeol previously said he would not rule out the possibility of the development of South Korea's own nuclear weapons if North Korea's threats continue to increase.

Apparently aware of the skepticism that the U.S. would not take the risk of triggering a nuclear war with North Korea in the event of an armed conflict on the Korean peninsula, Austin promised to provide South Korea with a NATO-style security guarantee. He made the promise in a statement sent to Yonhap, a Korean news agency, prior to the meeting.

"If they (North Korea) challenge one of us, they are challenging the U.S.-ROK alliance as a whole," Austin said, echoing the core principle of NATO, a security alliance of 30 countries from North America and Europe. Article 5 of its treaty states that "an armed attack against one or more of them in Europe or North America shall be considered an attack against them all."

Austin said the U.S. commitment to the alliance is "what we're all about" and not "just a slogan." That commitment, he added, has never been shaken over the past 70 years.

President Yoon Suk Yeol, right, and U.S. Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin shake hands at the presidential office in Seoul, Tuesday. Courtesy of presidential office 

Lee agreed with Austin on scaling up the scope of their joint exercises, vowing to maintain "peace through strength."

The two sides also agreed to strengthen cooperation with Japan and take concrete steps to set up systems to share real-time information about North Korea's missile launches in accordance with a summit agreement by the three countries last November. For that, Lee and Austin agreed to hold the Defense Trilateral talks, a senior-level meeting, "at the earliest opportunity."

In a joint press release, Lee and Austin strongly condemned North Korea's provocations, including its recent drone incursions.

After the meeting, Austin met with the South Korean president, who voiced his appreciation for Washington's security support and asked for stronger and practical deterrence means that would dispel any public concerns about North Korea's threats.

The Korea Times · January 31, 2023

7. Nuclear envoys of S. Korea, Japan hold consultations on N.K. provocations

Excellent. north Korean (and China) actions make ROK-Japan relations stronger.

Nuclear envoys of S. Korea, Japan hold consultations on N.K. provocations | Yonhap News Agency

en.yna.co.kr · by 이원주 · January 31, 2023

SEOUL/TOKYO, Jan. 31 (Yonhap) -- The top nuclear envoys of South Korea and Japan held a meeting Tuesday to discuss cooperation in dealing with North Korea's missile and nuclear threats, the Seoul foreign ministry said.

Kim Gunn, the ministry's special representative for Korean Peninsula peace and security affairs, met with his Japanese counterpart, Takehiro Funakoshi, at the South Korean foreign ministry in Seoul and exchanged views on the security situation surrounding Pyongyang.

The two sides stressed the importance of South Korea-Japan bilateral cooperation, as well as trilateral cooperation involving the United States, in countering the North's threats. They also agreed to further strengthen communication to bring Pyongyang back to the negotiating table.

After their meeting, Tokyo's foreign ministry also said the envoys shared the view that North Korea's missile provocations pose a clear and serious challenge to the international community.

Kim Gunn (R), South Korea's special representative for Korean Peninsula peace and security affairs, poses for a photo with Takehiro Funakoshi, head of the Japanese Foreign Ministry's Asian and Oceanian Affairs Bureau, after holding talks in Seoul on Jan. 31, 2023, in this photo released by the South Korean foreign ministry. (PHOTO NOT FOR SALE) (Yonhap)

julesyi@yna.co.kr

(END)

en.yna.co.kr · by 이원주 · January 31, 2023

8. Arrest looms for accused operators of North Korean spy ring

​"Crush the cell." South Korea must take down the networks and cells of north Korea's United Front Department and the Cultural ENgagement (225th ) Bureau and all its witting agents as well as useful idiots.

We must never forget that the regime's political warfare strategy is all about undermine the South Korean government and society.

Arrest looms for accused operators of North Korean spy ring

koreaherald.com · by Kim Arin · January 31, 2023

An arrest warrant is being sought after four individuals accused of operating a spy ring for North Korea, according to a Seoul court on Tuesday.

The Seoul central district court opened a hearing at 3 p.m. to determine whether to issue an arrest warrant requested by prosecutors for the four accused spies for North Korea. The court may take longer than a day to make a decision on the prosecutors’ request for a warrant of arrest, which was filed Monday.

The request for their arrest comes more than two months since the intelligence authorities conducted the first raid in an investigation into the alleged spy ring for North Korea.

In November last year, the National Intelligence Service searched the offices of what is publicly known as a pro-unification group on allegations they were working with North Korea. Four of the pro-unification group officials -- three based in South Gyeongnam Province and one in Seoul -- have been detained by the police on Saturday.

The pro-unification group faces the accusations that they worked with North Korean authorities, meeting with them in Southeast Asian countries such as Cambodia, to plot anti-South Korean government activities since 2016.

In a phone call with The Korea Herald on Tuesday, one of the lawyers representing the accused spies said describing them as “anti-South Korean government” is “incredibly inappropriate.” She said that some of them were “pro-Korea unification activists.”

“The so-called anti-government activities are waging anti-Japan and anti-US protests, and organizing cheer events for the North Korean team at the World Shooting Championships back in 2018. I think these are activities any South Korean citizen can engage in,” she said.

She refused to comment further saying, “We will clarify everything in court.”

The conviction of violating the National Security Act, which the accused spies face, can bring about a maximum penalty of a death sentence or a lifetime in jail.

By Kim Arin (arin@heraldcorp.com)

koreaherald.com · by Kim Arin · January 31, 2023

9. Calls for nuclear buildup a chance to widen debate, experts say

Although there is apparent friction over this in the end all this debate will make the alliance stronger.

Calls for nuclear buildup a chance to widen debate, experts say

koreaherald.com · by Choi Si-young · January 31, 2023

Growing calls for South Korea’s independent nuclear buildup, a discussion that had left the country more divided than united, now offer policymakers latitude to widen the nuclear debate, experts said Tuesday as South Korea steps up efforts for a more powerful military to contain North Korea.

President Yoon Suk Yeol and Defense Minister Lee Jong-sup met with US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin in Seoul on Tuesday while Foreign Minister Park Jin and his US counterpart, Antony Blinken, will meet in the US this week. The gatherings are meant to bolster the allies’ superior firepower against Pyongyang, Seoul’s imminent threat. Such military strength heavily hinges on extended deterrence, Washington’s support involving its nuclear weapons.

The latest Gallup Korea poll showed this week that 7 in 10 South Koreans back the country’s independent nuclear buildup, a jump from the 60 percent support six years ago by the same survey. This presents a chance to not only bring the conversation on nuclear arms to the mainstream, but leverage it to earn concessions from the US, South Korea’s biggest ally, according to experts.

That is more doable now than ever before, they say, because the growing calls for nuclear arms also concern the US. The US remains terse over what exactly nuclear deterrence entails, or when and how such forces will be deployed to protect South Korea.

“Being left in the dark with those questions unanswered is making more South Koreans convinced that an independent buildup is the surest way,” said Shin Jong-woo, a senior analyst at the Korea Defense and Security Forum. The US does not give details on its defense strategy as per its policy.

The ambiguity will not be resolved anytime soon, so in the meantime South Korea should take advantage of a shifting political landscape by widening the nuclear debate -- a course of action that could pressure Washington to either clarify its deterrence plan or reverse its position of not deploying nuclear weapons in Seoul. The US withdrew them in 1991 and since 2006 the two allies have reaffirmed commitment to extended deterrence instead.

Ryu Seong-yeop, an intelligence analyst at the Korea Research Institute for Military Affairs, said South Korea should rather go straight to putting together a blueprint for nuclear buildup, referring to an emboldened North Korea, which fired off a record number of missiles last year and is readying for another nuclear test.

“We’re facing an existential threat here, and all the potential backlash from going nuclear on our own cannot be bigger than that. We can’t look the other way,” Ryu said of international sanctions South Korea would have to deal with once it pulls out of the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons. “Aren’t we underestimating our ability to sell our buildup to the world, when we have this much proof that we need it?”

By Choi Si-young (siyoungchoi@heraldcorp.com)

koreaherald.com · by Choi Si-young · January 31, 2023

10. NK slams NATO chief's Seoul visit as 'prelude to war'

​north Korea's grievance politics.​ While this indicates the fear of the regime toward alliances this is also a double edged sword. This also supports regime domestic propaganda. It will use this to reinforce that the north has external threats and this helps to justify the sacrifices and suffering of the Korean people in the north as Kim Jong Un prioritizes nuclear and missile development over their welfare.

NK slams NATO chief's Seoul visit as 'prelude to war'

The Korea Times · January 30, 2023

President Yoon Suk Yeol shakes hands with NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg during the latter's visit to the presidential office in Yongsan District, Seoul, Monday. Courtesy of presidential office

Security grouping becoming conspicuous in Northeast Asia

By Nam Hyun-woo

North Korea criticized North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg's visit to Seoul, calling it a prelude to war and an attempt to create an Asian version of NATO.

The condemnation was the latest in a series of hostile statements by Pyongyang against the U.S. decision to deliver tanks to Ukraine to assist Kyiv's war with Russia, showing that the North is seeking to benefit from the China-Russia bloc's confrontation against the trilateral security group of South Korea, Japan and the U.S.

The North's official Korean Central News Agency, Monday, carried an article by Kim Tong-myong, a researcher at the North's association of international relations, which claimed that the NATO chief's trips to Seoul and Tokyo are "a prelude to war and confrontational behavior" bringing the "flame of a new Cold War to the Asia-Pacific region."

The researcher condemned Stoltenberg as the head of the military organization that turned Ukraine into a "theater of proxy war" and said "his arrival in the Asia-Pacific region, which is out of his operational scope, is raising concerns."

Stoltenberg arrived in Seoul on Sunday for a two-day visit, seeking to boost NATO's relations with Asian partners including South Korea and Japan.

The NATO chief was invited to meet with President Yoon Suk Yeol on Monday and discussed expanded cooperation between the two sides in digital and emerging technologies, climate change and defense industries.

During the meeting, Yoon asked Stoltenberg and NATO to play "active roles" to deter North Korea's "reckless provocations."

Stoltenberg promised to bolster South Korea-NATO cooperation and lauded the expanding defense industry cooperation between the two sides. The NATO chief invited the South Korean leader to attend July's NATO Summit in Lithuania, and Yoon replied that he will consider it.

The North Korean researcher added that the Ukraine war is entering a new crisis following the U.S.' decision to deliver tanks to Kyiv, and that it is obvious that the NATO chief will coerce South Korea and Japan by talking about Chinese threats in order to call for the necessity of an Asian version of NATO, as well as putting pressure on them to provide weapons to Ukraine.

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un shakes hands with Russian President Vladimir Putin during their summit in Vladivostok in this April 25, 2019, file photo. Yonhap

The North has recently been releasing statements critical of the U.S.' plan to assist Ukraine with tanks.

On Jan. 27, Kim Yo-jong, the sister of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, said the North will always be "in the same trench" with Russia and that the U.S. is exposing the entire European continent to war risks and crossing the red line with the tank issue.

Two days later, Kwon Jong-gun, director-general in charge of U.S. affairs at North Korea's foreign ministry, denied allegations that the regime traded arms with Russia and claimed that "there would be no Ukraine war if the U.S. did not violate Russia's reasonable safety interests and pursue NATO's assertion in the East."

These recent moves are being interpreted as the North's effort to revitalize its relations with Russia to the level of the quasi-alliance it had during the Cold War era.

"Through the Ukraine war, North Korea seeks to improve Pyongyang-Moscow relations to that of the Cold War-era military alliance," said ruling People Power Party Rep. Tae Yong-ho, who is a former North Korean diplomat.

Tae said Russia became passive in providing military equipment to North Korea after the Cold War as Moscow did not need North Korean conventional weapons. However, the rising significance of conventional weapons in the Ukraine war is making Pyongyang an important weapons supplier for Moscow again.

"The current security dynamics of Northeast Asia is explained as a confrontation between a group of three nuclear states ― North Korea, China and Russia ― and a security bloc consisting of South Korea, the U.S. and Japan, which are relying on the U.S.' nuclear capability," Tae said.

The Korea Times · January 30, 2023

11. Promise and Perils for the Japan-South Korea-US Trilateral in 2023

Excerpts:

Meanwhile, the Biden administration has made outcompeting rivals (i.e. China), a central theme in its National Security Strategy. Throughout 2022, the U.S. Congress and Biden administration tightened export and technology controls against China and encouraged its allies to follow suit. The United States also positioned itself as a vocal defender of freedom of the seas in the Indo-Pacific along with promoting democracy and human rights in Hong Kong and Xinjiang, respectively.

Trilateral policy differences on China also mirror the three countries’ stances on Taiwan. Japan has been more vocal in its support for Taiwan’s defense in the event of a contingency, whereas South Korea has shied away from making direct public commitments beyond calling for “peace and stability” in the Taiwan Strait. Moving forward, however, Tokyo and Seoul may both need to calibrate their positions and begin conversations with Washington as the United States steadily increases military and political support for Taipei through defense cooperation and high-level official visits.

The expansion of trilateral coordination from a focus on North Korean threats and Northeast Asia security to include broader Indo-Pacific issues signals new-found momentum in the Japan-South Korea-U.S. trilateral relationship. Strides in 2022 revealed how productive unity can be when addressing North Korean threats and preserving a platform for coordinating on critical regional priorities. Despite challenges in the new year ranging from North Korea to economic cooperation to divergences on China policy, strengthening and expanding relations must be the objective in pursuing national interests in the Indo-Pacific and beyond.

Promise and Perils for the Japan-South Korea-US Trilateral in 2023

Aside from longstanding historical issues, the three countries will face challenges in sustaining coordination on North Korea and China policy. 

thediplomat.com · by Hanna Foreman · January 30, 2023

Advertisement

The trilateral relationship between Japan, South Korea, and the United States experienced dramatic improvements in 2022, fueled by a major uptick in North Korean provocations and the election of South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol, who pledged to improve Korea-Japan bilateral relations.

Since May 2022, the three countries have held more than two dozen high-level meetings, including trilateral leaders’ meetings held on the sidelines of the NATO Summit in June 2022 and the East Asia Summit in November 2022. Most notably, the November 2022 Phnom Penh Statement on U.S.- Japan–Republic of Korea Trilateral Partnership for the Indo-Pacific represented a significant new milestone for trilateral relations by expanding the geographic scope and function of trilateral cooperation to cover a wide range of issues beyond North Korean threats.

Although the three leaders seek to implement the Phnom Penh statement and deepen trilateral cooperation this year, they will be confronted by several obstacles at home and abroad. As usual, historical antagonism and domestic politics in Japan-South Korea relations loom in the background. Additionally, however, three challenges for trilateral cooperation come to light in 2023: sustaining coordination on North Korea policy, tightening economic security cooperation, and calibrating divergent perspectives on China policies.

Stopping North Korean Aggression

The escalation in North Korean threats, including a record-breaking number of North Korean missiles fired in 2022 (over 100 by some accounts), has been the biggest impetus in boosting Japan-South Korea-U.S. trilateral cooperation. On one occasion, North Korea fired 23 missiles near the inter-Korea border in a single day, followed by an intercontinental ballistic missile test (ICBM) the next day.

Enjoying this article? Click here to subscribe for full access. Just $5 a month.

In response to North Korean missile tests, Seoul, Washington, and Tokyo have closely coordinated their response to prevent North Korea from exploiting potential divisions among allies. In one of the first trilateral meetings to take place after Yoon’s inauguration, South Korean Vice Foreign Minister Cho Hyun-dong, U.S. Deputy Secretary of State Wendy Sherman, and Japanese Vice Foreign Minister Mori Takeo set the tone for trilateral cooperation by strongly condemning North Korea’s ballistic missile tests and reaffirming U.S. commitment to extended deterrence in Northeast Asia.

The three countries also resumed joint military exercises that had been mostly suspended since 2017. Exercises included a trilateral ballistic missile drill off the coast of Hawaii in August 2022, and joint anti-submarine warfare exercises in international waters off the East Sea/Sea of Japan the following month.

North Korean threats will continue to be the glue that helps keep trilateral relations intact. However, South Korea’s effort to push for greater nuclear planning and sharing to increase the credibility of U.S. extended deterrence, and Japan’s call for long-range strike capabilities in its new National Security Strategy, bring new challenges to bear in mind. Conversations related to U.S. extended deterrence and nuclear policy on the Korean Peninsula will carry implications for Japan’s national defense. It would be difficult for Washington to include Seoul, but not Tokyo, in any nuclear sharing arrangement aimed at deterring and defending against a North Korean nuclear attack.

Advertisement

Likewise, Japanese counterstrike capabilities, which in theory parallel South Korea’s “kill chain” concept of preemptively striking North Korean targets, may also raise concerns in Seoul. Some South Korean experts have advised the Yoon government to discuss with Washington how the United States can prevent Japan from executing an attack on North Korea without prior South Korean consent. The three governments will need to further discuss the implications of Japan’s shifting defense posture for the Korean Peninsula and the Indo-Pacific region.

Coordinating Supply Chains and Economic Security

In 2022, the United States announced new tools and mechanisms to address economic security issues, such as a supply chain shortage early alert system. In that vein, Washington, Seoul, and Tokyo pledged to launch an economic security dialogue to address issues related to critical and emerging technologies, supply chains, and data transparency among others. Coordination between South Korea and Japan will be essential given the importance of Korean and Japanese firms in the semiconductor and battery supply chain ecosystem.

But two problems will need to be addressed to strengthen trilateral economic security cooperation. First, existing Japanese export controls on chemicals used by South Korean semiconductor companies, and the decision by both countries to remove the other from their respective “whitelist” of preferred trading partners in 2019 hinder the two countries from building more robust economic ties in an era of greater China-U.S. competition. While export controls have not severely impacted South Korea’s semiconductor industry, they hinder allies from seeking greater coordination on economic security and undermine the spirit of trilateral cooperation.

Second, trilateral cooperation on economic security will require greater clarity from Washington on its use of export controls related to the transfer of advanced computing chips and chip-making equipment to China. These controls may soon extend to other areas such as artificial intelligence, biotechnology, and quantum computing. Although the United States has granted South Korean companies a one-year extension before imposing export controls, Seoul and Tokyo may find it difficult to follow Washington’s lead given the high costs to their own technology industry and the risk of economic retaliation from Beijing. More generally, the Biden administration’s weaponization of economic interdependence runs contrary to the idea of a more open economic order, an approach Japan continues to pursue in its leadership of the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership.

Calibrating China Policies

Finally, different perceptions and policy divergences on China among the three countries may weaken the unity of trilateral cooperation, which to date, has focused mostly on the North Korea threat.

Enjoying this article? Click here to subscribe for full access. Just $5 a month.

Japan has developed stronger rhetoric and taken bolder action in response to growing Chinese influence and assertiveness. For instance, in its recent National Security Strategy, Tokyo pledged to “strongly oppose” China’s attempts to change the status quo and is expanding its military, cyber, and space capabilities.

In contrast, Seoul has adopted a more conciliatory tone toward Beijing, in part to preserve its economic relationship with China. In its recently released Indo-Pacific Strategy, the Yoon administration emphasized inclusivity, specifically naming China as a “key partner for achieving prosperity and peace in the Indo-Pacific.”

Meanwhile, the Biden administration has made outcompeting rivals (i.e. China), a central theme in its National Security Strategy. Throughout 2022, the U.S. Congress and Biden administration tightened export and technology controls against China and encouraged its allies to follow suit. The United States also positioned itself as a vocal defender of freedom of the seas in the Indo-Pacific along with promoting democracy and human rights in Hong Kong and Xinjiang, respectively.

Trilateral policy differences on China also mirror the three countries’ stances on Taiwan. Japan has been more vocal in its support for Taiwan’s defense in the event of a contingency, whereas South Korea has shied away from making direct public commitments beyond calling for “peace and stability” in the Taiwan Strait. Moving forward, however, Tokyo and Seoul may both need to calibrate their positions and begin conversations with Washington as the United States steadily increases military and political support for Taipei through defense cooperation and high-level official visits.

The expansion of trilateral coordination from a focus on North Korean threats and Northeast Asia security to include broader Indo-Pacific issues signals new-found momentum in the Japan-South Korea-U.S. trilateral relationship. Strides in 2022 revealed how productive unity can be when addressing North Korean threats and preserving a platform for coordinating on critical regional priorities. Despite challenges in the new year ranging from North Korea to economic cooperation to divergences on China policy, strengthening and expanding relations must be the objective in pursuing national interests in the Indo-Pacific and beyond.

Hanna Foreman

Hanna Foreman is a research assistant at the Brookings Institution’s Center for East Asia Policy Studies.

GUEST AUTHOR

Andrew Yeo

Andrew Yeo is a senior fellow and the SK-Korea Foundation Chair at the Brookings Institution’s Center for East Asia Policy Studies. He is also a professor of politics at The Catholic University of America in Washington, D.C.

thediplomat.com · by Hanna Foreman · January 30, 2023

12. US House resolution seeks to denounce socialism, N. Korean leaders

US House resolution seeks to denounce socialism, N. Korean leaders

The Korea Times · January 31, 2023

Pyongyang citizens pay tribute to the statues of their late leaders Kim Il-sung and Kim Jong-il on Mansu Hill on the occasion of the 62nd anniversary of Kim Jong-il's first field guidance for the revolutionary armed forces in Pyongyang, in this Aug. 25, 2022 file photo. AP-Yonhap

A resolution proposed in the U.S. House of Representatives seeks to denounce socialism and socialist dictators, including North Korean leader Kim Jong-un and his predecessors, the resolution showed Monday.

The resolution, titled "Denouncing the horrors of socialism," also notes over 3.5 million people in North Korea have starved due to what it called crimes committed by socialist ideologues.

The resolution notes "many of the greatest crimes in history were committed by socialist ideologues, including Vladimir Lenin, Joseph Stalin, Mao Zedong, Fidel Castro, Pol Pot, Kim Jong-il, Kim Jong-un, Daniel Ortega, Hugo Chavez and Nicolas Maduro."

Kim Jong-un is the incumbent leader of North Korea, who succeeded his late father, Kim Jong-il.

The resolution says socialism has "repeatedly led to famine and mass murders, and killing" of more than 100 million people worldwide, while "up to 3,500,000 people have starved in North Korea."

To this end, the resolution says U.S. Congress "denounces socialism in all its forms, and opposes the implementation of socialist policies in the United States of America."

The resolution was introduced in the House of Representatives on Wednesday. It was referred to the House Committee on Financial Service the same day. (Yonhap)

The Korea Times · January 31, 2023

13. U.S., South Korea to Step Up Nuclear Deterrence Efforts Against North Korea

All this friction will make the alliance stronger

U.S., South Korea to Step Up Nuclear Deterrence Efforts Against North Korea

Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin says two countries would expand military drills

https://www.wsj.com/articles/u-s-south-korea-to-step-up-nuclear-deterrence-efforts-against-north-korea-11675167998?mod=Searchresults_pos1&page=1

By Dasl YoonFollow

Jan. 31, 2023 7:26 am ET

SEOUL—Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said the U.S. would expand military drills with South Korea and increase nuclear-deterrence efforts, as he sought to reassure the Asian ally of Washington’s commitment amid growing threats from North Korea.

Mr. Austin said that more U.S. jet fighters would be deployed to South Korea this year and the two countries would hold larger-scale and longer joint military exercises than their previous ones. Mr. Austin, who is on a three-day visit to Seoul, made the commitments during talks with his South Korean counterpart, Lee Jong-sup, on Tuesday.

The meeting comes as South Korea seeks greater assurances from the U.S. on providing extended deterrence, especially nuclear assets, against potential attacks from North Korea.

Pyongyang launched a record number of missiles last year, including intercontinental and submarine-launched ballistic missiles. Washington and Seoul officials said Pyongyang is prepared to conduct its first nuclear test since 2017.

Japan is also trying to bolster deterrence against North Korea, and in Tokyo on Tuesday North Atlantic Treaty Organization Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg praised Japan’s recent pledge to raise defense spending to 2% of its gross domestic product over five years from just over 1% now.

“This will make your armed forces among the best funded in the whole world. It will bolster regional security and help realize Japan’s vision for a free and open Indo-Pacific,” Mr. Stoltenberg said in remarks alongside Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida.

Japan’s defense spending plans include the deployment of missiles that would be able to hit military facilities inside North Korea and China, a move aimed at deterring any attack.

North Korea’s evolving nuclear and missile threat has fueled a debate in South Korea over the deployment and development of nuclear weapons as a deterrent. South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol has pushed for Washington to allow Seoul to be more involved in the management of nuclear weapons, including planning and joint exercises. Mr. Austin separately assured Mr. Yoon, during a meeting Tuesday, that Washington would strengthen deterrence measures to gain South Korea’s trust, according to South Korea’s presidential office.

Earlier this month, Mr. Yoon said South Korea could develop its own nuclear weapons or ask the U.S. to redeploy them if the threat from North Korea grows. South Korea is protected under the U.S. nuclear umbrella, an agreement that says Washington will use its nuclear weapons to defend its ally. Mr. Yoon later dialed back his comments, saying South Korea fully respects the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty and has confidence in Washington’s extended deterrence.

During the Tuesday meeting, the defense chiefs of the U.S. and South Korea condemned North Korea’s missile tests and recent drone incursion as a violation of United Nations Security Council sanctions. They vowed to strengthen information sharing. High-level military officials from South Korea and the U.S. will meet in February to discuss and run through scenarios, including a potential nuclear attack from North Korea, South Korea’s defense ministry said.

Since taking office last May, Mr. Yoon has sought to strengthen trilateral cooperation with the U.S. and Japan and vowed to take a tougher stance on North Korea. On Tuesday, Messrs. Austin and Lee said the allies would work to accelerate plans to share radar information on North Korean missile launches.

U.S. soldiers conducting a joint military drill in South Korea earlier this month.

PHOTO: AHN YOUNG-JOON/ASSOCIATED PRESS

Strengthening cooperation with allies and expanding military exercises are among the few options Mr. Yoon has for getting tougher on North Korea, said Moon Jang-ryul, a presidential policy adviser during left-leaning former President Moon Jae-in’s time in office. With that strategy, he runs the risk of raising tensions with Pyongyang, he said. “It will only draw an angry reaction from North Korea and peaceful relations become more unlikely,” Mr. Moon said.

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un vowed to exponentially increase his nuclear arsenal and ordered the development of a new ICBM system, during a year-end meeting of the ruling Workers’ Party. Pyongyang has ignored calls from the Biden and Yoon administrations to return to talks and condemned the U.S. and its allies for providing arms to Ukraine.

After President Biden said last week that the U.S. would send 31 Abrams tanks to Ukraine, the North Korean leader’s sister, Kim Yo Jong, said Washington was “crossing the red line.” She accused the U.S. of “sinister intention,” according to North Korean state media.

On Monday, NATO’s Mr. Stoltenberg urged South Korea to provide military support to Ukraine and consider changing its policy prohibiting the export of weapons to countries in a conflict. Mr. Yoon promised to provide continued support to Ukraine without saying whether Seoul would consider sending arms.

Alastair Gale in Tokyo contributed to this article.

Write to Dasl Yoon at dasl.yoon@wsj.com

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