[Editorial] New US protection technique highlights South Korea’s want to realize protection autonomy

US Forces Korea and Korean troops perform a joint river-crossing train. (from the ROK Military Fb web page)

The US Division of Protection revealed its 2026 Nationwide Protection Technique on Friday. Some interpret the revised technique doc as an express assertion of US President Donald Trump’s more and more clear marketing campaign all through his second time period to position a better protection burden on American allies. 

Concerning the Korean Peninsula, the doc states, “South Korea is able to taking major accountability for deterring North Korea with essential however extra restricted US help.”  

That is successfully a declaration of Washington’s intent to thrust the lion’s share of accountability for deterring North Korea onto South Korea, excluding the US’ nuclear umbrella and strategic property. 

As this may be understood to imply that the US intends to alter how its alliance with South Korea works, it’s incumbent upon us to retool our personal nationwide protection technique as nicely.

Elbridge Colby, the US undersecretary of protection for coverage, recognized to have performed a significant function in rewriting the Pentagon technique doc, arrived in South Korea on Sunday for a three-day journey. Colby has constantly argued that whereas the US ought to proceed providing its nuclear umbrella, South Korea ought to undertake major accountability for responding to traditional navy threats from North Korea. The NDS displays this argument as is. 

Colby has additionally argued that every one US forces within the Asia-Pacific area, together with US Forces Korea (USFK), ought to think about deterring China. On this regard, the Nationwide Protection Technique clarifies that the US goals to not interact in warfare or regime change in China, however merely to “be sure that neither China nor anybody else can dominate us or our allies.” 

It’s due to this fact probably that the US will speed up a shift within the major function of USFK from defending in opposition to North Korea to deterring China. Amid such adjustments, it’s potential that the US will enhance the presence of naval and plane property or draw down its troops in Korea, which presently quantity round 28,500. 

The US could ramp up its efforts to reset relations between USFK and US Forces Japan as a launch pad for bolstering trilateral navy cooperation among the many US, South Korea and Japan. 

Each particular person motion on this general change has the potential to massively impression Korea’s nationwide safety. 

For its personal sake, Korea must go all in on securing deterrence in opposition to North Korea’s nuclear weapons, which we’re incapable of countering alone, whereas guaranteeing there isn’t any chance of us turning into concerned in any navy battle between the US and China. 

We additionally must redouble our efforts to make the most of adjustments within the US protection technique for our personal protection autonomy. 

Within the Trump period, the place the boundaries between enemy and ally have develop into blurred, securing navy sovereignty and self-reliance in nationwide safety should not selections — they’re existential requirements. 

President Lee Jae Myung mentioned on Saturday that “protection autonomy is the sine qua non amid geopolitical uncertainty.” We hope the administration will make the most of the chance afforded by the US’ new protection technique to speed up the restoration of OPCON and to ascertain the foundations for autonomous nationwide protection earlier than the top of Lee’s time period. 

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