Report: S. Korea, U.S. to hold defense talks on deterrence against N. Korea

South Korea and the United States will hold regular defense talks on deterrence against North Korean military threats and other alliance-related issues in Washington next week, Seoul’s defense ministry said

The two-day Korea-U.S. Integrated Defense Dialogue (KIDD) will take place starting Tuesday (local time) as the allies seek to bolster security cooperation amid Pyongyang’s continued saber-rattling, such as the recent unveiling of the Hwasan-31 tactical nuclear warhead.

Deputy Minister for Defense Policy Heo Tae-keun will lead the South Korean side, while Ely Ratner, assistant secretary of defense for Indo-Pacific security affairs, and Siddharth Mohandas, deputy assistant secretary of defense for East Asia, will head the U.S. side, according to the ministry.

Next week’s talks are set to discuss a range of issues, including policy coordination on ways to respond to and deter North Korea’s nuclear and missile threats, and strengthening the credibility of America’s extended deterrence, it said.

Extended deterrence refers to the U.S. commitment to use the full range of its military capabilities, including nuclear, to defend its allies.

The two sides will also discuss improving cooperation in defense technology, as well as in the space and cyber domains, trilateral security cooperation with Japan, the envisioned conditions-based transfer of wartime operational control, and other security issues concerning the alliance, it added.

Launched in 2011, KIDD is a comprehensive senior-level defense meeting between the allies. The last session was held in Seoul in August last year.