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Korea Herald
23-07-2025
- Business
- Korea Herald
Seoul should set new bottom line for USFK: expert
Seoul needs to be proactive in setting the new 'baseline' with Washington over the talks involving a possible change in the role of the 28,500-strong US Forces Korea stationed here, a Seoul-based military and foreign relations expert said Wednesday. 'South Korean officials and experts' current discussions, in dealing with Washington's talks of strategic flexibility of the USFK, are focused on maintaining the current situation or reacting to the US' moves,' Jo Bee-yun, a research fellow at Sejong Institute said in a report. 'However, Seoul must take a proactive approach (toward the issue) and prevent any radical adjustments to the USFK,' she added. The report comes amid growing speculation that Washington may reduce and reconfigure the USFK to prioritize deterrence of Chinese threats. A May report by the Wall Street Journal indicated that Washington was reviewing wheter to relocate 4,500 troops from South Korea to other areas in the Indo-Pacific region. US President Donald Trump has been also putting pressure on Seoul to sharply increase its spending on national defense or pay more fo the cost of stationing the USFK on the peninsula. He recently took a jab at the latest South Korea-US defense cost-sharing deal, dubbed, the Special Measures Agreement, signed under the previous Joe Biden administration last year, saying falsely that the cost was reduced 'to nothing.' The latest SMA for the 2026-2030 period states that Korea is to pay 1.52 trillion won ($1.11 billion) next year, up from 1.4 trillion won this year. In this regard, Jo pointed out that the gap between the stance on security priorities between Seoul and Washington are growing wider. 'South Korea prioritizes responding to threats from North Korea due to its geopolitical conditions, but the US is attempting to expand the strategic flexibility of the USFK with the focus on deterring threats from China — this has led to a widened gap between stances on security,' she explained. To prevent further security risks, Jo claimed Seoul must first admit the possibility of a USFK troop reduction and set a new baseline that could help maintain the strength of the South Korea-US alliance and Washington's commitment to extended deterrence. Specifically, Seoul would need to propose to Washington about maintaining at least 15,000 troops on the peninsula, as well as the current level of the 'Super Squadron' formation test, an initiative by the US Air Force, to consolidate a larger number of F-16 fighter jets into a single squadron at Osan Air Base. The test is aimed enhancing combat effectiveness. Seoul should also pursue permanent deployment of an F-35A wing, a radar-evading aircraft, to Kunsan Air Base and request Washington to continue to send four-star generals to lead the USFK, she added. Advancing and developing conventional-nuclear integration options, under which South Korea mobilizes its conventional military assets to back America's nuclear operations in a crisis scenario, would be another key step, Jo noted.
American Military News
28-06-2025
- Politics
- American Military News
US strikes on Iran may strengthen North Korea's nuclear resolve, experts warn
This article was originally published by Radio Free Asia and is reprinted with permission. The U.S. air strikes on Iran's nuclear facilities will have reinforced North Korea's perception that possessing nuclear weapons is essential for its survival and may even prompt Pyongyang to accelerate the development of its nuclear capabilities, warned South Korean experts. U.S. President Donald Trump on Saturday announced that the U.S. had conducted 'massive precision strikes' on three Iranian nuclear sites – Fordow, Natanz, and Isfahan – that has 'completely and totally obliterated' Iran's key nuclear enrichment facilities. The attack on Iran's nuclear sites marks the first offensive action in Israel's war with Iran – a major escalation in tensions in the Middle East – which South Korean analysts warn will make North Korea increasingly resistant to any diplomatic efforts or talks aimed at convincing Pyongyang to give up its nuclear program. 'North Korea must have thought it was a good idea to have nuclear weapons after seeing the U.S. airstrike on Iran's nuclear facilities,' Jeong Seong-jang, deputy director of the Sejong Institute, told Radio Free Asia on Monday. In a statement Monday, a spokesperson for the North Korean Foreign Ministry criticized the U.S. airstrike on Iran's nuclear facilities, saying it 'violated the U.N. Charter and international law, which have as their basic principles respect for sovereignty and non-interference in internal affairs,' North Korea's state-run Korean Central News Agency reported. Despite calls by the U.S. and its allies for denuclearization, North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has pushed for his country to bolster its nuclear capabilities to defend itself, warning earlier this year that 'confrontation with the most vicious hostile countries is inevitable.' While the 'hostile countries' were not named, North Korea regards the U.S. and its ally, South Korea, as its main enemies. In 2003, North Korea withdrew after acceding to the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT), shortly after the U.S. invaded Iraq. It cited concerns, at the time, that the U.S. was planning a preemptive strike against Pyongyang. 'North Korea is (likely to be) concerned that if it gives up its nuclear weapons, it will end up in a situation similar to Iran, and will not accept future proposals for denuclearization discussions.' He warned the strikes may even prompt North Korea – which conducted its first underground nuclear test in 2006 – to accelerate the development of nuclear submarines in an effort to secure so-called 'second-strike' capabilities – or the ability to launch retaliatory nuclear strikes after a preemptive one. Other South Korean experts echoed similar concerns. 'Kim Jong Un will probably order the relocation, hiding, and concealment of nuclear facilities, as well as the expansion of air defense systems,' Professor Nam Seong-wook of Sookmyung Women's University told RFA. In a social media post, Kim Dong-yeop, a professor at the University of North Korean Studies, argued that the U.S. strikes would cause North Korea to further solidify its perception that 'only possession of nuclear weapons can lead to survival' and provide much-needed validation for Pyongyang to hold on to its nuclear arsenal. Since 2006, North Korea has tested nuclear devices six times and has developed missiles believed to be capable of reaching the U.S. mainland. During his first term, Trump held historic summits with Kim Jong Un, hoping to get North Korea to abandon its nuclear weapons in exchange for sanctions relief, but his high-level diplomacy ultimately failed to achieve a breakthrough. The North has continued to build its nuclear and missile programs. The Stockholm International Peace Research Institute estimates that North Korea has assembled around 50 warheads and possesses enough fissile material to produce up to 40 more warheads and is accelerating the production of further fissile material. Earlier this year, Pyongyang reiterated that it has no intention of giving up its nuclear program. North Korea would now view diplomatic engagement with the United States as 'foolish' and any future negotiations of denuclearization as futile, Kim Dong-yeop wrote in a social media post on Sunday. 'North Korea will use the Iran situation as an excuse to strengthen its criticism of the South Korea-U.S. alliance and South Korea-U.S.-Japan security cooperation,' he added.
Korea Herald
02-05-2025
- Politics
- Korea Herald
As China, Russia escalate cognitive warfare, experts say Seoul needs counterstrategy
As China and Russia ramp up sophisticated cognitive warfare targeting the Korean Peninsula, experts at a Seoul forum urged the South Korean government to craft a counterstrategy grounded in objective, professional assessments of both countries' capabilities. The Korean Association of Area Studies co-hosted the seminar themed, 'Security Threats of Cognitive Warfare and Trump's Second-term Strategy on China,' on Friday with the Institute for National Security Strategy and the Sejong Institute at the ROKAUS Hotel in Seoul. The seminar featured two sessions: Session 1, 'Cognitive Warfare Security Threats and Complex Crisis on the Korean Peninsula,' and Session 2, 'Trump's Second-term China Strategy and Regional Hybrid Threats," according to the three co-host organizations. Lee Ho-ryoung, president of the Korean Association of Area Studies, said in her opening remarks, 'North Korea is intensifying its 'invisible cognitive warfare,' such as cyber influence operations and GPS jamming.' 'Therefore, a comprehensive, all-encompassing response is needed to counter the cognitive warfare targeting the Korean Peninsula by revisionist powers, including China and Russia," Lee said. Han Suk-hee, president of the Institute for National Security Strategy, assessed that 'China favors hybrid warfare, such as ppsychological division and information operations shaping public opinion, over direct military conflict" in his congratulatory address. "China is pursuing a strategy to sow division between the United States and its allies by intervening in issues like historical disputes between Korea and Japan and controversies over weapons system acquisitions.' Experts at the seminar shared the view that cognitive warfare threats from China and Russia targeting the Korean Peninsula are evolving and emphasized the need for proportional responses by the South Korean government, according to the press statement by the three co-hosting organizations. The experts specifically recommended that the Korean government encourage diverse research on cognitive warfare and conduct objective, professional assessments of Chinese and Russian cognitive warfare strategies. In addition, the experts stressed that the new South Korean administration, which will take office after the June 3 early presidential election, should incorporate cognitive warfare threats and response measures into the national security strategy to lay the groundwork for building a government-wide cognitive warfare response system. The experts also emphasized the importance of drawing lessons from the characteristics of cognitive warfare identified in recent conflicts such as the Ukraine war and the Israel-Hamas war in the process of developing the strategy.
Korea Herald
02-05-2025
- Politics
- Korea Herald
As China, Russia escalate cognitive warfare, experts say Seoul needs counterstrategy
As China and Russia ramp up sophisticated cognitive warfare targeting the Korean Peninsula, experts at a Seoul forum urged the South Korean government to craft a counterstrategy grounded in objective, professional assessments of both countries' capabilities. The Korean Association of Area Studies co-hosted the seminar themed, 'Security Threats of Cognitive Warfare and Trump's Second-term Strategy on China,' on Friday with the Institute for National Security Strategy and the Sejong Institute at the ROKAUS Hotel in Seoul. The seminar featured two sessions: Session 1, 'Cognitive Warfare Security Threats and Complex Crisis on the Korean Peninsula,' and Session 2, 'Trump's Second-term China Strategy and Regional Hybrid Threats," according to the three co-host organizations. Lee Ho-ryoung, president of the Korean Association of Area Studies, said in her opening remarks, 'North Korea is intensifying its 'invisible cognitive warfare,' such as cyber influence operations and GPS jamming.' 'Therefore, a comprehensive, all-encompassing response is needed to counter the cognitive warfare targeting the Korean Peninsula by revisionist powers, including China and Russia," Lee said. Han Suk-hee, president of the Institute for National Security Strategy, assessed that 'China favors hybrid warfare, such as ppsychological division and information operations shaping public opinion, over direct military conflict" in his congratulatory address. "China is pursuing a strategy to sow division between the United States and its allies by intervening in issues like historical disputes between Korea and Japan and controversies over weapons system acquisitions.' Experts at the seminar shared the view that cognitive warfare threats from China and Russia targeting the Korean Peninsula are evolving and emphasized the need for proportional responses by the South Korean government, according to the press statement by the three co-hosting organizations. The experts specifically recommended that the Korean government encourage diverse research on cognitive warfare and conduct objective, professional assessments of Chinese and Russian cognitive warfare strategies. In addition, the experts stressed that the new South Korean administration, which will take office after the June 3 early presidential election, should incorporate cognitive warfare threats and response measures into the national security strategy to lay the groundwork for building a government-wide cognitive warfare response system. The experts also emphasized the importance of drawing lessons from the characteristics of cognitive warfare identified in recent conflicts such as the Ukraine war and the Israel-Hamas war in the process of developing the strategy.
Korea Herald
03-04-2025
- Business
- Korea Herald
Tariffs on Korea 'opening salvo,' not endgame: Trump's ex-aide
President Donald Trump's newly announced reciprocal tariffs on South Korean imports are an 'opening bid' for broader trade negotiations — not an outcome or a policy set in stone, former Trump national security aide Fred Fleitz said Thursday. 'I will tell you that I think this is the opening salvo in negotiations, and that this is something that will be negotiated and altered over time,' Fred Fleitz, former Chief of Staff of the National Security Council under Trump's first term said during the 'Trump 2.0 and Security in East Asia' forum hosted by the Sejong Institute in Seoul. 'But it does reflect Trump's position that trade can't just be free — it has to be fair. And he does think America has been taken advantage of by many nations. He's trying to settle a score.' Fleitz reiterated that 'Trump thinks tariffs are a useful tool to make trade fair. That's his position.' Fleitz's comments came after Trump announced Wednesday plans to impose a 26 percent 'reciprocal' tariff on South Korean imports, along with a minimum 'baseline' tariff on all goods entering the US. The 10 percent baseline tariff and the higher reciprocal rate are set to take effect on April 5 and April 9, respectively. 'Now I don't think this is a precarious situation — I think it's an unprecedented situation.' Fleitz, who currently serves as vice chair of the Center for American Security at the America First Policy Institute, predicted that 'South Korea will do very well in those negotiations,' expressing a positive outlook for trade talks between the two allies. 'There will be such a fight with Europe that it will leave an opening for South Korea to strike some very important deals for your economy, for your security, and for global security,' Fleitz said. 'I hope your (the Korean) government will see it that way. I know you don't welcome these tariffs, but I still think they can be negotiated — and that there are other opportunities that can be pursued.' Fleitz called for South Korea to take the initiative, calling on Seoul to pursue strategic agreements that could provide both countries' security and mutual economic benefits in the course of trade negotiations. 'Trump's a dealmaker. He wants you to make him a deal. That's what I would say to that.' Fleitz specifically cited Korea-US cooperation in shipbuilding and energy as strategic opportunities. With China's naval expansion accelerating, the US is in urgent need of South Korea's assistance to build naval vessels, he said. Fleitz also pointed to the significance of the proposed Alaska LNG pipeline — a Trump-backed investment proposal for the production and export of Alaskan natural gas — that could reduce delivery time to South Korea and enable it to reduce its reliance on imports of energy from Russia and the unstable Persian Gulf. Trump has wanted Japan, South Korea, and Taiwan to join the undertaking, while Alaska Gov. Mike Dunleavy wraps up an Asia trip between March 19 and 30, looking for investors and final buyers. 'Build this pipeline. Build this energy relationship with the United States. It will score a lot of points with President Trump, but frankly, it's the right thing to do for South Korea,' Fleitz said. 'This is a win-win proposal.' Addressing the forum, South Korea's Deputy Foreign Minister for Political Affairs Chung Byung-won, also addressed the issue of US reciprocal tariffs, saying, 'We will do everything we can going forward to develop a win-win formula — one that minimizes the negative impact on us while offering areas where we can contribute to the US.'
