US Pledges All-Out Defense to Counter Grave North Korean Threat

The United States and South Korea said on Wednesday that North Korea’s nuclear and missile programs posed a grave security threat after repeated tests this year. Consequently, the two countries agreed to intensify diplomatic and military efforts to counter that threat.

The countries said they had agreed to establish a high-level Extended Deterrence Strategy and Consultation Group. The group’s purpose is to influence “the full breadth of national power” following talks in Washington between their foreign and defense ministers. This includes military coordination, information, diplomacy, and economic elements.

The United States would do whatever it has to protect itself, South Korea and other allies against North Korea, according to US Secretary of State John Kerry.

A joint statement by Kerry and Defense Secretary Ash Carter reiterated that any attack by North Korea would be crushed. It also stated that any use of nuclear weapons would be met with an effective and overwhelming response.

Kerry and Carter also reaffirmed the solid and unwavering US commitment to bring in the full range of its military capabilities. Their primary goal is to provide extended deterrence to South Korea. These military capabilities include conventional strike, the US nuclear umbrella, and missile defense capabilities.

Questioned on what the US could do to stop North Korea from conducting more nuclear tests following those in January and September, Kerry told a news conference: “We will up and energize those three things that we have already been doing and put greater pressure, put greater diplomacy to work, and put greater deterrence to work so that in every case, we will underscore the futility of what Kim Jong-un and North Korea are pursuing.”

He said the military alternative was a last option and Washington was exerting effort to tighten sanctions. This includes trying to seal off a loophole in UN steps that permitted North Korea to export coal for commerce.

Kerry said the United States, as part of the military effort, would position the Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) anti-missile system to South Korea immediately.

China sharply resists deployment of the missile defense system, saying it would intrude on its own strategic deterrence.

South Korean Foreign Minister Yun Byung-se expressed North Korea was close to the final stage of nuclear weaponization. Due to this imminent threat, the allies would marshal “all tools in the toolkit” to defend themselves.

“Extended deterrence” could include permanent positioning of US strategic assets in South Korea. These assets involve F-22 stealth fighter jets, nuclear-capable B-52 and B-1B bombers, and nuclear-powered submarines.

Yun said he knew this would be deliberated on in talks between Carter and Han at the Pentagon on Thursday. He did not give further details.

Carter said earlier that Seoul and Washington would persist to modernize the alliance, appropriate new opportunities, and tackle developing threats. However, the Pentagon did not immediately respond when queried about the likelihood of such deployments.

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Japan to Speed Up Missile Defense Upgrades

JAPAN – Three government sources said that Japan may fast track about $1 billion of planned expenditure to improve its ballistic missile defenses. This decision is in the heels of missile tests indicating North Korea is close to deploying a more potent medium-range missile.

The disbursements include money to evaluate a new missile defense layer. This will either be Lockheed Martin’s Aegis Ashore or Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) system. Aegis Ashore is a land-based variety of the ballistic missile defense system utilized by vessels in the Sea of Japan.

The sources familiar with the proposal said it covers funds to upgrade the range and accuracy of PAC-3 Patriot batteries. The sources requested no to be named since they are not allowed to speak with the media.

However, the same sources noted that the rollout of Aegis Ashore or THAAD could still take years. Further, the companies involved in production of Patriot missile batteries, such as Mitsubishi Heavy Industries and Raytheon, are unlikely to supply upgrades much quicker. Most probably, due to limited capacity to speed up already tight production schedules.

The Sankei newspaper reported earlier that up to 300 billion yen ($2.9 billion) of defense spending will be involved in a third auxiliary budget. Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s administration has yet to acknowledge whether it will request legislators to endorse additional expenses before discussions begin on next year’s budget.

Pyongyang’s evident technological advancement on missiles has been sooner than expected. A senior Japanese military commander said earlier this month that this exposes Japan to a heightened threat.

North Korea fired a missile over Japan for the first time in 1998. Since then, Pyongyang and Tokyo have been wedged in an arms race.

Musudan ballistic missile renders SM-3 obsolete

North Korea has test-fired more than 21 ballistic missiles and managed two nuclear tests so far this year. On June 22, a medium-range Musudan missile achieved a height of 1,000 km (620 miles) on a lobbed arc. At this height, the missiles are beyond the range of SM-3 missiles deployed on Aegis destroyers at the Sea of Japan. The SM-3 missiles are designed to hit warheads at the edge of space.

That puts older PAC-3 Patriot missiles guarding major cities like Tokyo as a last line of defense. Their enhancement program will not provide the initial upgraded batteries until 2020, in time for the Tokyo Olympics.

Pyongyang’s Rodong missile has warheads that travel at speeds of up to 3 km (2 miles) per second. Meanwhile, payloads on rockets like the Musudan plummet from space at least twice as fast.

Japan plans to obtain a more formidable version of the SM-3 it is jointly developing with the United States. However, it is not known when the first will be deployed.

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