Korea and US Hold High-Level Defense Talks...Focus on Deployment to Hormuz

September 16–18 in Busan... OPCON Transfer to Be Official Agenda Item

U.S. Side Expected to Visit Korean Shipyards After Discussing Shipbuilding Cooperation

The 'Korea-US Integrated Defense Dialogue' (KIDD), a high-level consultative body between the South Korean and US defense authorities, will be held in Busan for three days starting on the 16th. Launched in 2011 to facilitate timely and effective security consultations between the two countries, the KIDD meeting has been alternately hosted by South Korea and the United States one or two times per year. This marks the first meeting in about four months since the 28th session was held in Washington, D.C. this past May.

On September 14, the Ministry of National Defense announced that the 29th KIDD meeting will take place in Busan from September 16 to 18. Kim Hongcheol, policy chief of the Ministry of National Defense, and George Lemieux, US Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for East Asia, will lead each delegation as chief representatives. Key officials from both countries' defense and diplomatic sectors will also attend.

The 14th Korea-US Integrated Defense Dialogue (KIDD) meeting held at the Ministry of National Defense in Yongsan-gu, Seoul

This meeting is expected to address the issue of 'Hormuz deployment,' which the United States has consistently requested of its allies, including South Korea, since the outbreak of war with Iran earlier this year. Ahead of the KIDD meeting, the South Korean government dispatched a local inspection team to the United Arab Emirates (UAE) last week as part of its concrete review of a deployment. The team examined Middle East military bases and port calls, as well as assessed local support conditions for maintenance and supply, and the overall operational environment.

The US side is reportedly hoping for a decision from South Korea on the deployment before the US midterm elections in November, but the government maintains that no decision has yet been made and is taking a cautious stance. However, the military authorities are known to be reviewing a 'military asset list' so that assets can be deployed immediately if a decision is made. Possibilities include maritime patrol aircraft capable of monitoring wide maritime areas, explosive ordnance disposal (EOD) teams, and unmanned mine detection and clearance systems. If the deployment is finalized during the KIDD meeting, the timing, scale, mission, and force composition of the deployment are expected to be clarified in detail. Transfer of wartime operational control (OPCON) will also be officially discussed at this meeting.

The Ministry of National Defense aims to reach an agreement on the OPCON transition target year at the Korea-US Security Consultative Meeting (SCM), which the defense ministers of both countries will attend in November. The purpose of this KIDD meeting, which serves as a preparatory session for the SCM, is to work out the details for such an agreement. This is the first time the KIDD meeting will be held in a third location, rather than in Seoul or Washington, D.C. According to the Ministry of National Defense, Busan was chosen as the venue to underscore both countries' commitment to shipbuilding cooperation and South Korea’s shipbuilding capabilities. During their stay in Korea, US participants are expected to visit local shipyards. Near Busan are HD Hyundai Heavy Industries in Ulsan and Hanwha Ocean in Geoje, the two leading shipyards in the Korean shipbuilding industry.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.