Ministry of National Defense Republic of Korea

The Korea-U.S. defense pledge reconfirmed: “Together at last”

President-elect Trump “100% agreed to boost alliance”

Defense Minister Han Min-koo presided over situation evaluation meeting

The MND establishing new national defense policy with the U.S. response team

Chairman of the National Assembly Defense Committee Kim Young-woo visited the Joint Chiefs of Staff

Discussed how the U.S. presidential election affects our security

<Chairman of National Assembly Defense Committee Kim Young-woo (middle), Minister of National Defense Han Min-koo (right) and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Lee Sun-jin are discussing how the U.S. presidential election affects security around the Korean Peninsula at the Joint Chiefs of Staff in Yongsan, Seoul, on the morning of November 10. Reporter Jae-Ho, Han.>

U.S. president-elect Donald Trump showed his intent to maintain a strong and firm defense posture to protect Korea in a telephone call with President Park Geun-hye on the morning of November 10.

Diplomatic authorities said that President Park and President-elect Trump had a 10-minute long phone call, in which he reaffirmed the Korea-US alliance and the US pledge to defend the South, saying that he will not be disturbed and that the countries are together at last for the security of Korea and the U.S..

President Park also said, “Congratulation on winning the election. The Korea-U.S. alliance has built up a great deal of trust through facing up to various challenges over the past 6 decades, and has been a foundation for peace and prosperity in the Asia-Pacific region. I’m looking forward to continuously strengthening and developing our alliance in various fields for our common interest,” and President-elect Trump replied that he agreed 100%.

Park also spoke her mind on the North Korean nuclear issue, describing it as the biggest threat that Korea and the U.S. are facing, and that considering that North Korea previously launched a provocation during a change in the U.S. administration, we need to cooperate closely so that we can respond firmly to North Korean provocations while deterring any possibility of new provocations in the months ahead.

The MND also held a ‘situation evaluation meeting related to the U..S election results’ under Minister of National Defense Han Min-koo on the same day, and the Chairman of the National Assembly Defense Committee Kim Young-woo visited the Joint Chiefs of Staff to solidify our security even during the transition of the U.S. administration.

This situation evaluation meeting provided a place to comprehensively evaluate the impacts of the U.S. election results on our defense and to discuss overall response proposals in the defense field. In particular, the MND decided to create a ‘national defense policy with the US response team’ to establish plans to manage the Korea-U.S. alliance stably during the transition of the US government.

In this context, Defense Ministry spokesman Moon Sang-kyun said, “We will continue to move forward based on the existing terms of our agreement, through discussions on various plans to improve the extended deterrence capability, including regular rotation of US strategic assets, Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) deployment in the US forces, Korea, switching over of wartime operational control based on conditions, etc. in cooperation with the US.”

He also clarified the MND’s position that they would discuss pending issues related to the Korea-U.S. alliance and development plans while closely communicating with US officials during the new U.S. administration’s policy-making on defense and regarding the Korean Peninsula.

In addition, the Chairman of the National Assembly Defense Committee Kim exchanged opinions with the Minister of National Defense Han and the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Lee Sun-jin on the impacts of the U.S. election results on our security, and said to reporters, “President-elect Trump will change his mind once he understands the details of our allied contribution to the common defense of the US forces in Korea. I got good vibes from Defense Minister Han that he knows the situation well and could explain the real condition of the contribution in the case of Japan and Germany.”

After the meeting with Chairman Kim, the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Lee visited the 1st Field Army Command to check their military readiness posture, and asked the military to remember to maintain the posture for their true mission with a spirit of ‘Fight Tonight,’ as well as a thorough surveillance and alert posture so as not to be ambushed by the enemy.

By Chul-Hwan, Kim < droid001@dema.mil.kr >
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