The Department of Defense and Republic of Korea (ROK) Ministry of National Defense held the 7th Korea-U.S. Integrated Defense Dialogue (KIDD) on April 14-15 in Washington, District of Columbia. Over the course of the two-day KIDD, ROK Deputy Minister for Defense Policy Yoo Jeh Seung met with Assistant Secretary of Defense for Asian and Pacific Affairs Amb. David B. Shear, Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for East Asia David Helvey, and Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Nuclear and Missile Defense Policy Elaine Bunn. The results of the meetings are as follows:
Following up on Secretary Ash Carter’s successful trip to the Asia-Pacific this month, the delegations reviewed alliance efforts to strengthen deterrence and response options to North Korean aggression and provocations and held in-depth discussions on the regional and global security environment. The two sides reaffirmed their view that recent North Korean provocations, including cyber hacking and ballistic missile launches—which violate multiple UN Security Council Resolutions—threaten stability on the Korean peninsula and in the region.
The two sides also made progress on implementing plans for the conditions-based approach to the transition of wartime operational control. They reached consensus on a new framework for transition, which will replace the Strategic Alliance 2015 plan, and will prepare it for senior leader review and consideration ahead of the security consultative meeting (SCM) this October. The two sides also discussed cooperation on regional and global issues, countering weapons of mass destruction and proliferation, C4I interoperability, and space and cyber initiatives.
The U.S. and the ROK reviewed developments regarding alliance efforts to strengthen deterrence and to prepare comprehensive responses to North Korean WMD and missile threats through the counter-missile capabilities (CMCC) and extended deterrence policy committees (EDPC). The delegations followed up last year’s SCM by signing a terms of reference framework integrating the EDPC and CMCC into the new Deterrence Strategy Committee.
Both sides concluded that discussions during the 7th KIDD session substantively strengthened the U.S.-ROK alliance and enhanced the nations’ bilateral defense relationship. The U.S. and ROK expect to hold the 8th KIDD in Seoul, ROK in September 2015 and the 47th SCM in October 2015.