Counter threat

The two countries reached these agreements during a meeting of their foreign and defence ministers in Washington last week. The so-called “two plus two” meeting was the second of its kind between the two allies, following the first held in Seoul in 2010.

The joint statement issued after the ministerial dialogue touched on a wide range of regional and global issues, ranging from US-South Korea-Japan trilateral security cooperation and Myanmar’s transition to democracy, to sanctions on Iran, massacres in Syria and development support for Afghanistan.

Yet the most important issue for the four ministers was the growing missile and cyber threats from North Korea. They agreed to explore ways to respond to its expanding missile capabilities and take a “proactive and whole-of-government” approach to counter its cyber threats.

The meeting will spur Seoul’s efforts to establish its own missile defence system, dubbed the “Korea Air and Missile Defence”, with the backing of Washington. Tailored to the terrain of the Korean Peninsula, KAMD is a “low-tier” defence system designed to intercept incoming hostile missiles or combat aircraft at an altitude of 10-30 kilometres.

If developed as planned, KAMD will help protect the South against missile attacks from the North. Yet the system alone is not enough to deter the North’s missile threats.

To enhance missile deterrence, Seoul should develop longer-range missiles. Yet under a 2001 agreement with Washington, it is currently banned from developing ballistic missiles with a range longer than 300 kilometres and a payload heavier than 500 kilograms.

Seoul has long demanded that the range be extended to 1,000 kilometres but Washington has been reluctant to give the nod as Seoul’s neighbours China and Japan oppose it.

However, US Defence Secretary Leon Panetta said after the meeting there has been “good progress” in talks on the missile range. His remarks raised hopes that the two sides would be able to arrive at an agreeable solution soon.

At the meeting, the ministers also agreed to cooperate to combat the North’s threats in cyberspace. The two countries will establish a “cyber issues dialogue” involving relevant agencies to coordinate security policies of the government, military and business sector.

The move is timely as the North is stepping up its cyber warfare against the South, as evidenced by recent DDoS attacks and GPS signal disruptions.

The North is known to operate a large cyber warfare unit under the command of the Reconnaissance General Bureau, an organisation believed to be responsible for the torpedoing of the Cheonan warship and the shelling of Yeonpyeong Island in 2010.

The allies’ initiative indicates that they take the North’s cyber warfare efforts very seriously. They note in the statement that threats in cyberspace may put the infrastructure of the two nations at great risk. 

If the North’s cyber attacks paralyse the South’s defence system, they could also threaten the US defence system. Hence Washington’s decision to launch the consultative body with Seoul is well advised. The two allies should foil Pyongyang’s malicious attempts to bring down their economic and defence systems.

As the ministerial two-plus-two meeting has proved very productive and useful, the two allies need to make it a regular event. Doing so will help their comprehensive strategic alliance evolve further into a truly global partnership.