ROK-U.S. News

VOA – “The Biden government maintains the continuity of the quad initiative…to strengthen requests for participation in Korea”

February 4, 2021 ROK-U.S. News

*Jake Sullivan, US White House National Security Advisor.*

US security experts say the continuity of the “quad,” a regional collective security initiative, will also be maintained by the US Biden administration. It is expected that the request for participation from Korea will be further strengthened in the future. Reporter Kim Dong-hyun covered it.

White House National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan emphasized on the 29th of last month that the “quad”, a regional collective security initiative consisting of the United States, Japan, Australia and India, will be the basis for establishing future Asia-Pacific policies.

As Aide Sullivan announced the succession of the concept of a collective security system created by the Trump administration for the purpose of restraining the public, attention is focused on how the Biden administration will differentiate in the future.

Former Commander Brooks “Keeping the Quad Initiative Continuity… External outgoing adjustment expected”

KDVA Chairman Vincent Brooks, former ROK-US Combined Commander, told the VOA on the 1st, “With the security environment that threatens the US national interest unchanged, the Biden administration will continue to pursue an approach to the quad initiative.” I expected.

[Recording: Former Commander Brooks] “It won’t change. The approach is the same. Perhaps some of the public communications will be adjusted to make it clearer that it is about democracy not about China. Except, as China challenges the international order and challenges the interests of those democracies, in that regard, it will be about China… ”

However, he predicted that there will be some adjustments in the content of external communication, and that the Quad will more clearly communicate that it is an organization related to democracy, not directly targeting China.

The fact that China is taking action against the international order and the interests of democratic countries does not change the fact that China is treated as a core agenda, but it explains that there will be changes in details of cooperation based on shared democratic values.

Sullivan-Campbell’s past co-contributor, “We can’t follow the alternative method”

“Induce active participation of democratic countries in the region”

This keynote can be seen in an article by New Adviser Sullivan and Kurt Campbell, White House National Security Council (NSC) Indo-Pacific Coordinator, in the journal Foreign Affairs in October 2019.

In a joint contribution titled “Competition without Disaster: How the United States Co-exist and Challenge with China,” the two emphasized that in competition between the United States and China, third countries should not follow the method of forcing an alternative between superpowers during the Cold War. .

The two recalled that China, which mixed totalitarianism and capitalism compared to the former Soviet Union, was a far more ideologically difficult opponent to compete, and encouraged democratic countries in the region to actively respond to China’s actions according to their own standards. They introduced the policy as a way to further promote the interests of the United States.

Former Commander Brooks “Continued inducing Korean participation… Conflict resolution connection between Japan and Korea”

Former Commander Brooks said the biden administration’s desire to involve South Korea will continue, given that the Quad is made up of key democratic states in the region.

[Record: Former Commander Brooks] “The desire to add South Korea to that conversation will continue from the Trump administration to the Biden administration. South Korea should be in conversation with the other democracies of the region.”

In particular, Quad’s conception is essentially different from the approach the United States applied to the Southeast Asian Treaty Organization (SEATO) initiation attempts in the late 1940s, based on the fact that the Quad was made up of countries that shared democratic values with the United States much more. I heard it.

[Recording: Former Commander Brooks] “But when you talk about the five democracies of Asia, that’s a different story. There is much more in common… So the part of the Quint that needs shoring up is the Japan South Korea relationship. That is what is missing among the cooperation among democracies. And there’s evidence that certainly the Suga administration wants to try to move forward on that and perhaps there will be an opportunity for the Moon administration to create the progress that is needed.”

In the case of SEATO, while socialist countries such as Vietnam are included, Australia, India, and Japan all have a much deeper political, military, and economic ties. Pointed out that no.

He also analyzed that the US government must resolve the conflict between Korea and Japan, which could be a potential constraint, to induce South Korea’s participation in the future. Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga recently made the first normal currency with President Biden. .

Former Seymour Coordinator “Switching the Total Approach to Military One Side Island”

Former White House Weapons Destruction Coordinator Gary Seymour also analyzed the recent quad remarks of senior Biden administration officials, saying, “In terms of China’s checks, the fundamental goal of the Trump administration has not changed.

[Recording: Former Seymour Coordinator] “I think the Biden administration’s approach is basically,’We’re going to do what Trump did, but we’re going to do it right’. In other words, the criticism of Trump is that he was incompetent, that he had the right idea that China was growing more aggressive and the US needed to be more active in the Indo Pacific, to contain China, to strengthen its relations with allies, etc, etc…”

The new government also considers the Trump administration’s judgment to be correct from the standpoint of public containment, but it says there is a problem with the approach and will make a major correction in this area.

In particular, former Seymour coordinator predicted that not only a military approach, but also agendas covering economy and diplomacy would be addressed in detail in the collective security initiatives of the four countries.

Senior Researcher Bennett “Persuasion of the US National Taxpayer is the Key”

Meanwhile, a senior researcher at Bruce Bennett’s Rand Institute, cited as an example of China’s trade sanctions triggered by Australia’s participation. It was analyzed that they would have considered that cheap Australian products pose a threat to the US market.

[Recording: Senior Researcher Bennett] “Why didn’t the US go in and say,’Well, we’ll buy half of that barley’. There with a little bit of economic incentives from the US government, that barley could have become cheap for American businesses to take it and make beer or whatever. Now, US farmers wouldn’t have been necessarily excited about that because they want their price to go up… But it also yields benefits. And it’s not enough for Biden’s people to say,’Yes, we like the Quad’. They’ve got to be prepared to explain why and in very simple terms that the average American can understand.”

Senior researcher Bennett said that consideration for the protection of the US market is not a matter of change even if the Biden administration entered it. He pointed out that this is a problem that is directly related to the money of American taxpayers.

Senior researcher Bennett said he believes the economic incentives for the alliance will benefit the US in the long run, but the Biden administration also needs to convince US taxpayers to clarify its budget allocation.

This is VOA News, Donghyun Kim.

Article: https://www.voakorea.com/korea/korea-politics/biden-administration-quad-south-korean-participation-request

Yonhap – Alliances need to be viewed from strategic vantage, not just cost: Hicks

February 2, 2021 ROK-U.S. News

By Byun Duk-kun

WASHINGTON, Feb. 2 (Yonhap) — U.S. alliances need to be understood from the strategic value they serve, instead of just how much it costs to maintain them, U.S. Deputy Secretary of Defense nominee Kathleen Hicks said Tuesday.

The former deputy undersecretary of defense also said she expects President Joe Biden to place strategy at the center of U.S. alliances.

“We should always be focused on burden sharing and assuring that allies fulfill their commitments,” Hicks said in her confirmation hearing before the Senate Armed Services Committee.

She, however, argued the U.S. has become “astrategic,” allowing the burden-sharing issue to become a tactical issue that overrides the “strategic value of the alliances … that the Chinese and Russians could only hope to match.”

The captured image from the website of the U.S. Senate Armed Services Committee shows Deputy Secretary of Defense nominee Kathleen Hicks speaking in her Senate confirmation hearing in Washington on Feb. 2, 2021. (Yonhap)

Her remarks follow years of efforts by the former Trump administration to push U.S. allies to pay more for their joint defense.

For instance, the Trump administration had demanded South Korea pay US$1.3 billion per year as part of the cost to maintain 28,500 U.S. troops on the Korean Peninsula, which would mark an unprecedented 50 percent on-year increase for Seoul.

Seoul and Washington have been unable to renew their Special Measures Agreement since its expiration at the end of 2019.

Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin has said he will quickly conclude the cost-sharing negotiations with Seoul as part of efforts to modernize U.S. alliances in the Indo-Pacific.

“I’m very hopeful that President Biden, who has spoken eloquently on this issue, will make good progress in returning strategy to the center of our alliance relations,” Hicks told the committee.

She also underscored the importance of U.S. alliances in serving the country’s own interest.

“I believe that the alliance network that the United States maintains is of significant comparative advantage over competitors, and I think we should be pretty strategic about how we consider the allied perspective so that we advance that advantage,” said Hicks.

One of the areas that U.S. alliances serve the interests of both the U.S. and its allies is its extension of U.S. nuclear deterrence to allies, she noted.

“There are allies who very much rely on the United States as a nuclear assurance, and that helps dissuade their own internal dynamics that might look to develop nuclear weapons themselves. It helps dissuade that viewpoint. So I think it has a significant non-proliferation benefit to the United States by keeping countries that might otherwise pursue nuclear weapons from doing so,” she said at the hearing.

Hicks served as principal deputy undersecretary of defense for policy in 2012 after working as a career civil servant at the department from 1993 to 2006.

If confirmed, she will be the first woman to serve as deputy secretary of defense.

bdk@yna.co.kr
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Article: https://en.yna.co.kr/view/AEN20210203000300325?section=national/defense

Yonhap – N. Korea beefs up missile units, special forces over past years: defense ministry

February 2, 2021 ROK-U.S. News

By Oh Seok-min

SEOUL, Feb. 2 (Yonhap) — North Korea has expanded ballistic missile units and strengthened special forces with modernized equipment and exercises of attacking strategic targets, such as South Korea’s presidential office, the defense ministry said Tuesday.

These changes in the North Korean military were among the main points of the 2020 edition of South Korea’s biennial defense “white paper” that the defense ministry unveiled online and offline Tuesday.

According to the document, North Korea now has 13 missile brigades under its strategic force command, up from nine units in 2018.

The units are believed to operate short-range ballistic Scud missiles that aim to strike South Korean targets, Rodong missiles with a range of around 1,300 kilometers and Musudan intermediate-range missiles with ranges of over 3,000 km that put the U.S. strategic military base in Guam within range.

This photo taken from the South Korean defense ministry’s 2020 defense white paper, released on Feb. 2, 2021, shows types of North Korea’s ballistic missiles. (Yonhap)

The increase in the number of such units is in line with the communist country’s recent moves to strengthen its missile and other conventional weapons amid stalled denuclearization talks with the United States and chilled inter-Korean relations.

In 2019 alone, the North carried out a total of 13 missile tests, and displayed several new types of ballistic missiles, including its version of Russia’s Iskander, the U.S.’ Army Tactical Missile System (ATACMS) and a super-large multiple rocket launcher, as well as an advanced submarine-launched ballistic missile (SLBM).

“North Korea appears to have expanded its existing missile facilities. We are analyzing what types of missiles are deployed to the newly established units,” a military official said.

North Korea has also taken steps to beef up its special operations force and elevate its status, according to the document.

“The special warfare unit has carried out attack trainings by using mockups of South Korea’s major strategic facilities, and modernized its equipment,” according to the document. It revealed a photo of the force training with a mockup of South Korea’s presidential office Cheong Wa Dae.

As for the North’s nuclear stockpiles, the latest document offered the same evaluation as the 2018 edition that Pyongyang possesses 50 kilograms of weapons-grade plutonium, enough for up to 10 nuclear weapons, and its technology to miniaturize a nuclear warhead has reached a “considerable” level.

“It is expected to zero in on presenting economic results by mobilizing all resources available with a goal to improve people’s livelihoods by 2022, when it marks the 110th anniversary of Kim Il-sung’s birth,” according to the white paper. Kim Il-sung is the founding father of the communist country and the grandfather of leader Kim Jong-un.

Leader Kim said during a party congress in January that his country is developing new weapons systems, such as a nuclear-powered submarine, advanced warheads and hypersonic weapons, pledging to bolster its nuclear arsenal.

The North’s troops far outnumber the South’s. The number of active-duty service members in the North came to 1.28 million, compared with the South’s 550,000, according to the paper.

South Korea is working to reduce the number of troops to 500,000 by 2022 under a reform plan that aims to create a smaller but smarter military by using cutting-edge technologies.

“In order to effectively respond to North Korea’s nuclear and missiles threats, we’ve been strengthening capabilities of combined forces with the U.S. and of our own,” the ministry said in the report. “We will strive to establish key assets at an early date to secure our own deterrence and reaction capabilities.”

The paper also left out the previous description of North Korea as an enemy as it has done since 2018, when the peace process with North Korea boomed with three inter-Korean summits between President Moon Jae-in and the North’s leader.

Without referring to the North as an enemy, the paper cited broader national security threats as an enemy.

The paper also removed the description of Japan as a “partner.”

In the 2018 version, the paper called the two countries “geographically and culturally close neighbors and partners for cooperation toward world peace and prosperity.” But this year’s version said they are “neighbors for cooperation for peace and prosperity in Northeast Asia and the world.”

The omission appears to reflect their bilateral relations, which have been at one of their lowest ebbs over historic and diplomatic issues that have spilled over to the economic and military realms over the past several years.

South Korea has published 24 defense white papers, including this week’s publication, since 1967, to promote people’s right to know and to enhance transparency.

The ministry said it is scheduled to publish the document in English, Chinese, Japanese and Russian within the first half of this year.

graceoh@yna.co.kr
(END)

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Article: https://en.yna.co.kr/view/AEN20210202003000325?section=nk/nk

Yonhap – Blinken says U.S. looking for ways to move N. Korea denuclearization forward

February 2, 2021 ROK-U.S. News

By Byun Duk-kun

WASHINGTON, Feb. 1 (Yonhap) — The United States is looking for optimal ways to advance the denuclearization process in North Korea and also deal with “growing problems” from the North’s nuclear weapons, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said.

Blinken said such measures may include additional sanctions but also diplomatic incentives.

“This is a problem, a bad problem that has gotten worse over time, and I would be the first to acknowledge that it’s a problem that has gotten worse across administrations,” the top U.S. diplomat said of the North Korean nuclear issue in an interview with NBC News broadcast Monday.

“So the first thing the president has asked us to do is to review the policy to make sure that we are using the most effective tools to advance the denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula and to deal with the problem, the growing problem posed by North Korea’s arsenal,” he added.

Blinken earlier said the new administration will review the country’s “entire approach and policy on North Korea” and find ways to bring the North back to the negotiating table.

The North has been staying away from denuclearization talks since the second summit between leader Kim Jong-un and former U.S. President Donald Trump ended without a deal in Hanoi in February 2019. The first Trump-Kim summit was held in Singapore in June 2018.

Blinken refused to give a clear answer when asked what Kim would have to do to get a meeting President Joe Biden.

“Well, the first thing we’re going to do is to review the policy across the board to look at what tools we have, including additional sanctions, including, especially, additional coordination and cooperation with allies and partners, but also to look at diplomatic incentives,” he said. “So once we do that, we’ll be able to tell you how we plan to move forward.”

The new secretary took office last Tuesday, about one week after Biden was sworn in as president.

Biden earlier criticized Trump’s meetings with Kim for failing to make any progress while giving Kim global recognition as a leader.

Still, Biden has said he too may agree to meet with Kim if it would help move forward the North’s denuclearization process.

This AFP photo shows U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken holding a press conference at the State Department in Washington on Jan. 27, 2021. (Yonhap)

bdk@yna.co.kr
(END)

Article: https://en.yna.co.kr/view/AEN20210201009752325?section=nk/nk

CNN – Kim Jong Un cannot denuclearize, former North Korean diplomat says

February 1, 2021 ROK-U.S. News

Exclusive by Yoonjung Seo and Paula Hancocks, CNN

Video Interview Link: https://www.cnn.com/2021/01/31/asia/north-korea-ryu-hyeon-woo-intl-hnk/index.html

Seoul, South Korea (CNN)North Korea’s former acting ambassador to Kuwait believes Kim Jong Un will not give up his nuclear arsenal, but may be willing to negotiate an arms reduction for relief from the international sanctions crippling Pyongyang’s economy.

In his first interview since defecting to the South more than a year ago, Ryu Hyeon-woo told CNN that “North Korea’s nuclear power is directly linked to the stability of the regime” — and Kim likely believes nuclear weapons are key to his survival.

Ryu also said previous US administrations had boxed themselves into a corner by demanding denuclearization up front in negotiations with the totalitarian state.

“The US can’t back down from denuclearization and Kim Jong Un cannot denuclearize,” he added.

The former diplomat, who adopted the name Ryu upon moving to the South, is one of several high-profile North Korean officials to defect in recent years. The country’s top diplomat in Italy fled to South Korea in 2019, and Thae Yong-ho, the former deputy ambassador to the United Kingdom, defected in 2016. Thae has since been elected to South Korea’s National Assembly.

Ryu and his family defected to South Korea in September 2019, but their actions were only made public last week. Determined to give their teenage daughter a better life, Ryu said he and his wife planned their escape for about a month while living in Kuwait.

Ryu said that if they had been caught, North Korean agents would have quickly taken them all back to Pyongyang for certain punishment, as defection is considered a major embarrassment to the Kim regime and is not taken lightly.

They finally told their daughter about the plan while pretending to drive her to school.

“Come with Mom and Dad to find freedom,” Ryu recalled telling his daughter. “She was shocked, then said, ‘Okay.’ That’s all she said.”

Ryu took his family to the South Korean embassy in Kuwait to claim asylum. They traveled to South Korea several days later.

Defection from North Korea comes at a monumental cost, with defectors having to instantly sever ties from all family left in their home nation.

The regime often punishes nuclear and extended families of defectors to deter people from leaving, Ryu said — especially diplomats. Those posted abroad are often forced to leave a child at home as a hostage, ensuring their parents do not defect.

“I think that North Korea having such feudal collective familial punishment in the 21st century is appalling,” Ryu said.

He is now worried about his three siblings and 83-year-old mother still in North Korea. “I just want to see them live long,” Ryu said. “Any thought of them being punished for what I’ve done just hurts my heart.”

He also worries for his wife’s elderly parents living in Pyongyang.

Ryu and his wife both came from North Korea’s ruling elite. His father-in-law ran Office 39, a branch of the North Korean government a former employee likened to a “slush fund” for the Kim family. Nominally, it is in charge of getting hard currency for the cash-strapped regime.

North Korea has long been accused of using its embassies as cash cows for the ruling Kim family. Ryu said that while he was a trained diplomat dealing with politics, there were also “economic trading workers” assigned to diplomatic posts. They were given a quota on the amount of money they must make for the state, Ryu added.

North Korea's former acting ambassador to Kuwait Ryu Hyeon-woo. CNN blurred the faces of the others in this picture to protect them from possible reprisals.

North Korea’s former acting ambassador to Kuwait Ryu Hyeon-woo. CNN blurred the faces of the others in this picture to protect them from possible reprisals.

Kuwait was a particularly important revenue stream for Pyongyang, as the Persian Gulf nation used to employ about 10,000 North Korean laborers. Those workers were allegedly treated like modern-day slaves, and experts say almost all of their earnings were funneled back to the government, paying for Kim regime priorities such as the nuclear program.

Ryu said only China and Russia were bigger cash earners for the regime from North Korean laborers than the Gulf nations of Kuwait, Qatar and the UAE — at least until 2017, when the United Nations punished Pyongyang for its repeated missile and nuclear tests by barring nations from employing its workers.

“Due to the UN resolution, most laborers in the Gulf region left,” he said.

Ryu also was posted to Syria, a close ally of North Korea, from 2010 to 2013. While Ryu was charged with overseeing relations with Syrian politicians, his countrymen were selling conventional weapons to the Bashar al-Assad regime, including long-range multiple launcher artillery and anti-aircraft weapons systems. However, Ryu said the country’s bloody civil war forced Pyongyang to pull its personnel from the country. He said he had not heard of any new weapons deals with the Syrians since leaving the country.

Ryu’s experience in the Middle East gave him an up-close look at how the United States dealt with Iran’s nuclear program during former President Barack Obama’s administration. He believes that experience will come in handy for US President Joe Biden.

“Based on his experience resolving the Iranian nuclear issue, I have no doubt he’ll be able to handle North Korea’s nuclear issue wisely,” Ryu said.

Ryu said he believed North Korea may be willing to negotiate a reduction in its nuclear weapons, but is unlikely to ever give them up entirely. However, he said sanctions may have played a factor in pushing North Korea to the negotiating table in 2018, when Kim and former US President Donald Trump met for their historic summit in Singapore.

Weapons that appear to be submarine-launched ballistic missiles are shown during a military parade celebrating the 8th Congress of the Workers' Party of Korea in Pyongyang on January 14, 2021.

Weapons that appear to be submarine-launched ballistic missiles are shown during a military parade celebrating the 8th Congress of the Workers’ Party of Korea in Pyongyang on January 14, 2021.

Many analysts believe Kim came to the negotiating table because he had already developed nuclear weapons and successfully tested a long-range missile that could reach United States territory.

“The current sanctions on North Korea are unprecedented and strong,” Ryu said. “I think sanctions against North Korea should continue.”

Ryu also said it is important not to abandon the issue of human rights, which was largely swept under the carpet during nuclear talks with the Trump administration.

Pyongyang claims to be a socialist paradise and denies allegations of gross human rights violations. North Korea, however, does not allow freedom of speech or assembly, and citizens cannot leave. Kim’s regime is accused of running a system of gulags and political prison camps that house more than 120,000 men, women and children.

“Human rights is a matter of morality, and in the North Korean regime, the human rights issue is a sensitive and serious one,” Ryu said.

Looking back over the past 16 months, Ryu says his only regret is what might happen to his remaining family members back in Pyongyang. He and his wife believe they did the right thing for their daughter, by taking her away from her home country

Ryu told CNN he asked his daughter what she likes most about her new home. “I like the fact that I can use the internet as much as I want,” she replied.

CNN’s Jake Kwon contributed to this report

Article: https://www.cnn.com/2021/01/31/asia/north-korea-ryu-hyeon-woo-intl-hnk/index.html

KUSAF and KDVA Conduct Joint Boards of Directors and Advisors Meeting

January 29, 2021 Announcement, ROK-U.S. News

January 29, 2021

2021년 1월 29일

KUSAF and KDVA Conduct Joint Boards of Directors and Advisors Meeting

한미동맹재단 및 주한미군전우회 이사회 및 자문위원회 공동 개최

The Korea-U.S. Alliance Foundation (KUSAF) and the Korea Defense Veterans Association (KDVA) conducted their second annual Joint Boards of Directors and Advisors Meeting on January 25, 2021.

한미동맹재단과 주한미군전우회는 제2회 한미 합동 이사회 및 자문위원회 회의를 2021년 1월 26일에 개최하였습니다.

The two boards came together remotely from the United States (U.S.) and the Republic of Korea (ROK) to discuss plans in 2021 for advancing their mutual mission of enhancing the ROK-U.S. Alliance and supporting our Veterans.

한미동맹 강화 및 한국 근무장병 지원을 목표로 하는 한미동맹재단과 주한미군전우회의 이사 및 자문위원들은 2021년 사업계획에 대해 논의하였습니다.

The meeting was highlighted by remarks from ROK General (Ret.) Jung, Seung Jo, KUSAF President and former ROK Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, and U.S. General (Ret.) Vincent Brooks, KDVA Chairman and President and former Commander of the United Nations Command, ROK-U.S. Combined Forces Command, and U.S. Forces Korea. They emphasized the positive outlook for the Alliance in 2021, and KDVA and KUSAF’s vital role in bringing together senior leaders, members, and opinion leaders to raise awareness about Alliance topics including negotiating with North Korea, managing the transition of wartime operational control, coming together quickly on burden sharing, and cooperation beyond defense issues.

이번 회의는 한국군 합참의장을 역임하고 한미동맹재단을 이끌고 있는 정승조 회장(예비역 육군 대장)과 한미연합사/주한미군사/유엔사 사령관을 역임한 빈센트 브룩스 주한미군전우회 회장 (미 예비역 육군 대장)의 연설로 더욱 큰 의미가 있었습니다. 두 분은 2021년 한미동맹에 대해 긍정적 전망을 피력하였습니다. 아울러, 방위비분담금에 관한 조속한 협의, 전시작전통제권 이양 관리, 대북 협상 등 한미동맹 현안과 국방 현안 이외의 협력에 대한 인식 증진을 위해, 주요 지도자, 회원, 오피니언 리더들을 한데 모으는 재단과 전우회의 핵심 역할을 강조하였습니다.

The two organizations discussed how the global pandemic limitations on in-person gatherings in 2020 drove them to offering webinars and hybrid events. This significantly expanded the reach and impact on the understanding of the Alliance. There was a 22% increase in KDVA membership, a 90% increase in KDVA’s Facebook views, a 310% increase in our website views, and increased partnerships with well-known organizations like the World Affairs Council of America, The Korea Society, and The Heritage Foundation. KUSAF has built a network of 4,000 opinion leaders in South Korea and the United States and provided Alliance-related booklets, materials, and newsletters.

한미동맹재단과 주한미군전우회는 2020년 범세계적 코로나바이러스 감염병 사태로 인해 대면 모임이 제한되어 웨비나와 하이브리드 행사를 개최하였습니다. 이러한 변화는 한미동맹의 이해와 영향을 현저하게 증가시켰습니다. 한미동맹재단은 한미 양국 4,000명 이상의 오피니언 리더들로 구성된 인적 네트워크를 구축하였으며, 동맹 현안을 담은 책자, 자료, 소식지 등도 출간하였습니다. 주한미군전우회 회원 수는 약 22% 증가하였으며, 주한미군전우회 페이스북 조회수는 90%, 웹사이트 조회수도 310%나 증가하였습니다. 아울러 코리아 소사이어티, 헤리티지재단, 미국 세계문제위원회와 같은 저명한 글로벌 기관과의 파트너십도 체결하였습니다.

KDVA and KUSAF announced the introduction of the “Defense and Diplomacy Dialogue” or “3-D” Series that will bring together very senior leaders to look for ways to make the Alliance better. They will also conduct events in Korea to support the ROK-U.S. Security Consultative Meeting and Military Committee Meeting, the 3^rd Former CFC Commander and Deputy Commander Forum, four ROK-U.S. Alliance Forums, and the Alliance Prayer Breakfast Meeting. In the United States, they will support ROK President Moon, Jae-in’s visit to meet with U.S. President Biden and conduct events to support Veterans. They will conclude the year with their 1^st annual Honors Night to recognize the essential contributions of its members for the Alliance.

한미동맹재단과 주한미군전우회는 더욱 강력한 한미동맹을 구축하기 위해, ‘3D 시리즈, 국방(Defense) – 외교(Diplomacy) 대화(Dialogue)’를 시작하였습니다. 재단과 전우회는 한미 안보협의회의(SCM)와 군사위원회회의(MCM)를 축하하는 세미나 및 만찬, 제3회 역대 연합사 사령관 – 부사령관 포럼, 4회에 걸친 한미동맹 포럼, 한미동맹 국가 조찬기도회, 세미나 등의 주요 행사를 개최할 예정입니다. 또한 바이든 대통령과의 한미 정상회담을 위한 문재인 대통령의 미국방문을 지원할 것이며, 참전용사 후원 행사를 미국에서 개최할 계획입니다. 한미동맹재단과 주한미군전우회는 한미동맹을 강화하는 데 필수불가결한 한미 모범장병 및 군무원들의 기여에 감사하는 제1회 모범장병 시상식도 개최할 것입니다.

Finally, KUSAF and KDVA recognized and thanked their donors and partners who provide the support that is so needed for the cause of Americans and Koreans united for common defense and security.

한미동맹재단과 주한미군전우회는 한미 양국의 공동 방위와 안보에 필요한 지원을 해 주신 모든 후원자와 파트너들에게 깊은 감사를 표합니다.

“Together for the ROK-U.S. Alliance”

“위대한 한미동맹을 위하여”

Yonhap – Biden stresses need for complete denuclearization of Korean Peninsula: White House

January 28, 2021 ROK-U.S. News

WASHINGTON, Jan. 27 (Yonhap) — U.S. President Joe Biden on Wednesday highlighted the need to completely denuclearize the Korean Peninsula.

Biden made the remarks in a call with Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga, according to the White House.

“They discussed regional security issues, including China and North Korea,” a White House readout of the call said.

“They together affirmed the necessity of complete denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula, and the early resolution of the abductions issue,” it added.

Biden has repeatedly said his administration will work with U.S. allies, including South Korea and Japan, to denuclearize North Korea.

Still, it marked the first time for the new U.S. president to reaffirm his commitment to the complete denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula since he took office a week ago.

North Korea has boycotted denuclearization negotiations since leader Kim Jong-un’s second summit with former U.S. President Donald Trump ended without a deal in Hanoi in February 2019. The first Trump-Kim summit was held in Singapore in June 2018.

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken has said the new administration will review the country’s “entire approach and policy toward North Korea” to find ways to bring North Korea back to the negotiating table.

Biden has yet to hold a telephone talk with his South Korean counterpart, Moon Jae-in, since his inauguration. The two last spoke on the phone in mid-November, soon after Biden was called the winner of the Nov. 3 presidential election.

bdk@yna.co.kr
(END)

Article: https://en.yna.co.kr/view/AEN20210128000300325?section=nk/nk

Yonhap – U.S. will work with China, Russia to denuclearize N. Korea: UN envoy

January 28, 2021 ROK-U.S. News

By Byun Duk-kun

WASHINGTON, Jan. 27 (Yonhap) — The United States will work with its Japanese and South Korean allies, but also with China and Russia to denuclearize North Korea, the appointee for U.S. ambassador to the United Nations said Wednesday.

Linda Thomas-Greenfield also said the former Donald Trump administration may have failed to rid the North of its nuclear weapons because it tried to go “alone.”

“We certainly have to reengage with our allies. Again, this is not something we can do alone,” she said in her confirmation hearing before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.

“I think, one of the biggest failings of the Trump administration is that they did try to go it alone and our allies were left kind of holding the bag,” added Thomas-Greenfield.

The captured image from the website of the U.S. Senate Foreign Relations Committee shows U.S. Ambassador to U.N. nominee Linda Thomas-Greenfield speaking in a Senate confirmation hearing on Jan. 27, 2021. (Yonhap)

President Joe Biden and his national security team, including Secretary of State Antony Blinken, have repeatedly stressed the need to restore the United States’ relationship with its traditional allies, such as South Korea.

The U.N. ambassador nominee emphasized the importance of also working with China and Russia, both considered friends, if not benefactors, of the impoverished North. China alone is said to account for nearly 90 percent of North Korea’s overall trade.

“Reengaging with South Korea with Japan, as well as with China and Russia, particularly to push for their respect for a sanctions regime against North Korea, is going to be really important,” Thomas-Greenfield told the hearing.

“The locus for those discussions will be in New York at the United Nations, in addition at more high level engagements by the president and the secretary of state,” she added.

Biden held a telephone conversation with his Russian counterpart, Vladimir Putin, on Tuesday, less than a week after he took office as president.

Blinken, who took office on Tuesday, already has held telephone conversations with his South Korean and Japanese counterparts, in which he stressed the “continued need to denuclearize North Korea,” according to the State Department.

bdk@yna.co.kr
(END)

Yonhap – S. Korea to hold springtime combined exercises with U.S as planned: defense chief

January 28, 2021 ROK-U.S. News

By Oh Seok-min

SEOUL, Jan. 28 (Joint Press Corps-Yonhap) — South Korea will stage annual springtime military exercises with the United States as planned, Defense Minister Suh Wook said, amid concerns the drills could give North Korea a pretext for provocations in the early months of U.S. President Joe Biden’s administration.

Suh also said that South Korea is ready to discuss the exercise issue with the North via military channels to ease tensions. The minister stressed that the joint exercises with the U.S. are regular and purely defensive in nature.

“We will conduct a combined exercise in the first half of this year as a computer-simulated command post exercise (CPX) without outdoor drills. It is a regular program and for defense purposes,” Suh said during a press conference for the new year in Seoul on Wednesday.

“Taking the COVID-19 situation and other related factors into account, we are closely discussing how to conduct it in detail with the U.S. side,” he added.

Defense Minister Suh Wook poses for a picture during a press conference held in Seoul on Jan. 27, 2021, in this photo provided by his office. (PHOTO NOT FOR SALE) (Yonhap)

North Korea has long denounced such exercises as a rehearsal for invasion and demanded an end to such drills. Earlier this month, North Korean leader Kim Jong-un repeated the call during a party congress.

Concerns have arisen, even from within South Korea’s government, that the North could cite the upcoming exercises to undertake provocations, such as long-range missile tests, if it decides to do so to test the Biden administration.

Earlier this week, Unification Minister Lee In-young said he hopes the government will come up with a “wise and flexible solution” to the exercise issue to ensure that the situation will not lead to “serious military tensions.”

Pro-unification civic groups have also called for suspending the exercises.

The virus situation could affect the plan, but Suh said the situation this year appears to be different from the past, as the U.S. is administering COVID-19 vaccines to its service members, and the two sides have the experience of carrying out a combined exercise in an adjusted manner last year amid the pandemic.

Seoul and Washington usually hold major combined military exercises twice a year, along with smaller-scale ones throughout the year, and the springtime one is supposed to be held around March.

Since 2018, South Korea and the U.S. have either canceled or scaled back joint drills to back diplomacy with North Korea. Last year, they “indefinitely postponed” the springtime program due to concerns over the new coronavirus, and the summertime exercise was held in a scaled-back manner in August.

“The two Koreas are supposed to discuss any issues when a joint military committee is launched. I think that we also could discuss the (South Korea-U.S.) combined exercises with the North if there is any progress (in the committee formation),” Suh said.

South and North Korea agreed to create a committee decades ago, but no discussions have taken place.

The combined exercise also bears significance for Seoul’s envisioned retaking of the wartime operational control (OPCON) of its troops from Washington, for which Suh vowed to “make progress before my term ends.”

“We will strengthen consultations with the U.S. by having the Biden administration pay more attention to the issue,” Suh said.

During the telephone talks with new Pentagon chief Lloyd Austin earlier this week, the two ministers said they will meet at an earliest possible date to discuss pending alliance issues, including the OPCON transition, according to the minister.

Consultation is also under way with the U.S. about the Full Operational Capability (FOC) test, which is meant to check if Seoul is on course to meet the conditions. The test was supposed to be held in 2020, but the two sides were not able to do that due to the COVID-19 situation.

The two sides are working for conditions-based OPCON transition, which means no exact timeframe has been set. But the current Moon Jae-in administration has hoped to retake it within Moon’s term that ends in May 2022.

Asked about North Korea’s latest military moves after the recent party congress and a military parade, Suh said no imminent signs of North Korea undertaking provocative actions have been detected.

“Our military maintains a posture to deter and respond to North Korea’s nuclear and missile threats, and is working to beef up insufficient parts,” the minister said.

A senior ministry official added that the communist country appears to be “taking a wait and see posture” after the launch of the new U.S. government as they presented their message during the party congress.

graceoh@yna.co.kr
(END)

Article: https://en.yna.co.kr/view/AEN20210128004700325?section=national/defense

VOA – Former US officials “We need to conclude the defense cost negotiations quickly…3 years of agreement is best.”

January 26, 2021 ROK-U.S. News

In February of last year, the flags of the Stars and Stripes and Korean flags hang side by side near Camp Humphreys, the largest USFK base in Korea, located in Pyeongtaek, South Korea. — *In February 2019, the flags of the Stars and Stripes and Taegeukgi hang side by side near Camp Humphreys, the nation’s largest USFK base in Pyeongtaek, South Korea.*

While the US Secretary of Defense has announced that it will push for an early settlement of the defense cost-sharing negotiations, former US officials said they should take into account the Korean presidential election schedule and conclude as soon as possible. He also stressed that it is important to set the agreement to expire for three years. Reporter Kim Dong-hyun covered it.

USFK Chairman Vincent Brooks, who served as commander of the ROK-US Combined Forces Korea (KDVA), told VOA on the 22nd, “We expect the deadlocked US-Korea defense cost share negotiations to be concluded within six months.” In addition to cost sharing, “extensive burden sharing ( Burden Sharing) will continue.”

[Record: Former Commander Brooks] “My estimation is that somewhere within the first six months of the administration, there will be a resolution of the Special Measures Agreement and a further discussion, continuing discussion about broader matters of burden sharing.”

Former Commander Brooks “It must be settled before November… 3-year agreement statute is optimal”

“The discussion on expanding burden sharing is intensifying… Korea needs to expand its role in the region”

Former Commander Brooks said it is desirable for the two countries to reach an agreement at least before November, when the Korean presidential election schedule begins in earnest, and recommends that the negotiations be effective for an exception of three years.

[Recording: Former Commander Brooks] “My recommendation is that it is a three year agreement as an exception. Because it needs to not be caught up in the electoral cycle of either country… We saw a, a skewing of the process when the two national leaders became involved in the cost sharing negotiations. This is the first time that it has gotten to that level where the two presidents are directly involved in offering prices and denying prices and asking for prices. That has not been the case before.”

Former Commander Brooks explained that the current stalemate is unprecedented in the involvement of the political counting laws of the two leaders, and that three years is appropriate because the five-year statute is also linked to the United States’ next presidential election schedule.

However, the alliance’s Burden Sharing, which the US emphasizes, is not limited to the defense cost sharing agreement.

The US government is not forcing an alternative between China and the US, but the US government believes that South Korea can show off its current national strength not only in the military, but also economically and culturally.

[Record: Former Commander Brooks] “The South Korean government does have to come to grips with this and not in the form of making a choice for the United States or China. That is not the choice that the United States is encouraging and it is not the choice that South Korea should make. But rather, how does South Korea impact global security and stability?… Neutrality is I think the objectionable part. South Korea is not neutral. That is a concern. South Korea is a player that is not playing and so South Korea is in many ways permitting the international order to shape without its impact and the United States believes South Korea can do more than that.”

New Defense Secretary Austin announces succession of strategy to expand alliance burden

In fact, Defense Minister Lloyd Austin announced at a Senate Military Committee’s approval hearing on the 19th that he would pursue a strategy focused on Asia, regarded as a facing threat to China.

In particular, in the written questionnaire submitted to the Military Commission, it is clear that China and Russia are the most important challenges, but the Ministry of Defense stated that it will focus on alliance cooperation in the future, even to cope with threats arising from Iran, North Korea and terrorism at the same time.

Former Assistant Secretary Gregson “The meaning of the alliance division fades… Essential Goal Regression”

Wallace Gregson, former Deputy Secretary of Defense for Asia and Pacific Affairs at the Ministry of Defense, has made it clear that Austin has made clear plans to inherit the contents of the report of the NDS. In order to cope with the provocation, he said he expects to strengthen all-round cooperation with countries that share values, such as Korea and Japan.

[Recording: Former Assistant Secretary Gregson] I think we go back to one of the animating ideas… That what we need to do is the coalition of like-minded democracies to stick up for what we believe in and one of the best ways to confront a bully is with a team. And that’s the way we need to confront China’s expansion… ”

In particular, Trump’s transactional approach over the past four years has faded the alliance’s intention to increase the alliance’s burden-sharing as suggested in the Defense Security Strategy (NDS) report. We analyzed that we will focus on more essential goals.

Former Assistant Secretary Gregson said the cost-sharing issue is only part of the alliance. He said it would be appropriate to set a three-year statute to prevent the relationship from deteriorating due to future political variables.

[Recording: Former Assistant Secretary Gregson] “That (Cost Sharing) needs to be a component of our relationship and our alliance. But we got to get away from it being the only thing that we’re talking about. We’ve had so many other things to worry about other than other than the changes in the cost sharing relationship.”

Former Head of Lease “After an early settlement of cost sharing, review of regional strategies such as Quad Plus”

Former State Department Policy Planning Officer Mitchell Rees says many Americans, including him, still think South Korea should pay more.

[Recording: Former Director Reese] “Frankly, South Korea ought to be assuming more of the burden. That is my view. And I think most American’s view, But that said, the big picture needs to be in focus, which is, the Alliance relationship hasn’t been everything it should be and it needs to be. And I’m confident that the Biden administration will move very quickly to try to reassure Seoul and to try to get past of it so we can focus on the threats from China and North Korea.”

But now, he said, the big picture of the alliance should be focused, and he predicted that the Biden administration will move toward focusing on the threats from North Korea and China through an early settlement of the cost-sharing issue.

Rees also predicted that in the future, policies to induce Korea’s participation in the regional collective security system consisting of India, Japan, and Australia, centered on the United States, or tactical policies for specific regional joint exercises will be promoted.

This is VOA News, Donghyun Kim.

Article: https://www.voakorea.com/korea/korea-politics/sma-negotiations-burden-sharing-expectations