During the 56th U.S.-Republic of Korea (ROK) Security Consultative Meeting (SCM) on October 30, 2024, U.S. Secretary of Defense Lloyd J. Austin III and ROK Minister of National Defense Kim Yong Hyun advanced numerous initiatives that deepen our extended deterrence cooperation, modernize our alliance capabilities, and strengthen our contributions to regional security. 

On October 31, Secretary Austin and Minister Kim will join U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken and ROK Minister of Foreign Affairs Cho Tae-yul for a Foreign and Defense Ministers’ Meeting (2+2 Meeting) to align our diplomatic and defense efforts, ensuring that bilateral activities are synchronized to advance our Alliance’s shared values and interests.

ENHANCING EXTENDED DETERRENCE

The United States reaffirmed that its extended deterrence commitment to the ROK is ironclad. The United States and the ROK are enhancing our combined deterrence and response posture by:

• Enhancing extended deterrence cooperation through Nuclear Consultative Group (NCG) workstreams that enable integrated planning, decision-making, and execution of conventional-nuclear operations, as laid out in the “Guidelines for Nuclear Deterrence and Nuclear Operations on the Korean Peninsula.”
• Conducting large-scale field training exercises to maintain a strong combined defense posture, such as Freedom Shield and Ulchi Freedom Shield, and enhance the Alliance’s crisis management capabilities and strengthen deterrence.

MODERNIZING ALLIANCE CAPABILITIES

The United States and the ROK are modernizing our capabilities to strengthen the combined defense architecture of the Alliance, empowering us to work together more seamlessly by:

• Enhancing combined abilities to deter and respond to DPRK missiles by upgrading Shared Early Warning Systems and missile defense capabilities against advanced and novel threats.
• Expanding science and technology cooperation through the new Defense Science and Technology Executive Committee (DSTEC) to guide defense innovation and accelerate the incorporation of cutting-edge technologies in areas such as autonomous systems, artificial intelligence, and quantum technologies.
• Deepening industrial collaboration and supply chain resiliency by strengthening and connecting our defense industrial bases through our participation in the Partnership for Indo-Pacific Industrial Resilience (PIPIR) and maintenance, repair, and overhaul (MRO) activities, allowing our forces to field the most modern, interoperable weapons systems.

STRENGTHENING REGIONAL SECURITY COOPERATION

The United States and the ROK resolved to jointly strengthen activities with allies and partners in the Indo-Pacific by:

• Launching a new Regional Cooperation Framework to better coordinate efforts to advance our shared vision for a free and open Indo-Pacific. Areas of focus under this framework include maritime security, multilateral exercises, capacity building, defense industrial cooperation, technical cooperation, and information sharing.
• Deepening U.S.-ROK-Japan trilateral security cooperation through a Trilateral Security Cooperation Framework that institutionalizes high-level dialogues, missile warning data sharing, and an increased scope, scale, and frequency of trilateral multi-domain exercises.