Page 70 - 2018 Defense White Paper

diplomatic, informational, and economic (DIE) elements, thereby amplifying their deterrence

and response ef fects. At the second senior-level meeting of the EDSCG in January 2018, the two
sides discussed various policies and military measures to improve the capabilities to implement
the U.S. commitment to provide extended deterrence such as the ef fective rotational deployment

of U.S. strategic assets around the Korean Peninsula and the enhancement of the cooperation
system for extended deterrence. The two countries also agreed to continue strengthening bilateral
senior-level discussions on strategic and policy issues going forward.

The latest major example of the close policy coordination between the ROK and the United
States is the 2018 Nuclear Posture Review (NPR) 18) published in early February 2018. From an
early stage of drafting the NPR, the MND communicated the ROK’s opinions and discussed

the direction of the writing in multiple consultations with the United States. As a result, the
United States laid out clear objectives for North Korea’s denuclearization in the 2018 NPR and
clearly stated that any nuclear attacks by North Korea will not be tolerated.
Going forward, the ROK Armed Forces will improve the capability to implement the U.S.

extended deterrence commitment based on the tailored deterrence strategy as well as bolster the
ROK–U.S. combined deterrence and response capabilities.

| Developing the Alliance’s Counter-Missile Operations Concepts | The “Concepts
of the ROK–U.S. Alliance Comprehensive Counter-Missile Operations,” also known as the
“4D Operational Concept” 19) specif ied in the “tailored deterrence strategy,” is a set of concepts

regarding preparation against North Korea’s ballistic missile threats with the alliance’s counter-
missile capabilities. The word “comprehensive” means improvement in all areas of capabilities
to counter ballistic missiles including detecting, disrupting, destroying, and defending (4D).

The ROK and the United States reached an agreement on the “4D Operational Concept”

18) The 2018 NPR is the fourth edition, and the previous editions were published in 1994, 2001, and 2010. The NPR
contains the U.S. president’s guidance on the administration’s nuclear policies and strategies as well as the
nuclear force and posture.
19) Detect: Support efforts to disrupt, destroy, and defend using intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance (ISR)
assets.
Disrupt: Strike North Korea’s fixed infrastructures that support missile operations.
Destroy: Directly strike North Korean ballistic missiles as well as transporter–erector–launchers (TELs).
Defend: Intercept North Korean ballistic missiles launched toward the ROK.

68 Chapter 3 Establishing a Robust Defense Posture against Omnidirectional Security Threats