South Korea and the United States have agreed to respond firmly to any security threats from North Korea. Top defense officials of the two allies held their 47th annual Security Consultative Meeting in Seoul on Monday, November 2, and announced a 16-point joint communiqué. Notably, the two countries approved the so-called “4D Operational Concept,” which is a new guideline to counter North Korea’s missile threats. Here is Yang Wook, senior researcher at the Korea Defense and Security Forum, to explain the guideline in more detail.

In line with their plan to establish a more pragmatic guideline, South Korea and the U.S. have come up with a new strategy called “4D Operational Concept”, which would flesh out the Kill Chain preemptive strike program and the Korean Air and Missile Defense system that had already been discussed. 4D stands for “detect, disrupt, destroy and defend.” “Detect” means tracking any signs of North Korea’s missile launch in advance. “Disrupt” refers to the procedure to dismantle North Korea’s command structures or support systems for missile deployment. In the “destroy” step, the allies would demolish North Korea’s missiles. Nevertheless, North Korea could still go ahead with missile launches. If that happens, the allies would conduct defensive operations in the air in the “defend” step. The four major steps will be used as military operations under one strategy.


During the recent joint defense talks, South Korea and the U.S. also agreed to execute Washington’s conditions-based transfer of wartime operational control to Seoul. That is to say, the transition of wartime OPCON will be delayed until South Korea secures its own defense capabilities independently. The two countries also decided to set up a defense cooperation group to promote coordination in bilateral defense technology and strategy. But the most attention-grabbing part is the “4D” strategy. The adoption of this new concept came amid intensifying threats from North Korea.

Initially, Seoul and Washington had planned South Korea’s takeover of wartime OPCON of its troops from the U.S. at the end of 2015. But the security situation has become precarious, as North Korea conducted a third nuclear test in 2013 and later developed more missiles, including the KN-08. In May this year, the country demonstrated its ability to test-fire a submarine-launched ballistic missile. It would be fair to say that North Korea has enhanced its missile and nuclear capabilities significantly, moving beyond the level of concerns. South Korea and the U.S. are feeling the need to respond to these threats through a more precise military operation. The allies have devised the new operational concept with this in mind.


North Korea unveiled an upgraded intercontinental ballistic missile called KN-08 during a military parade marking the founding anniversary of the Workers’ Party on October 10. The missile is capable of flying up to 12-thousand kilometers, which might hit the west coast of the U.S. Some analysts suspected that North Korea could possibly miniaturize a nuclear warhead and mount it on that missile. During the parade, Pyongyang also revealed batteries of 300-millimeter caliber guns with a range of more than 200 kilometers that could target the South Korean city of Daejeon. Against this backdrop, South Korea and the U.S. have established the 4D guideline. Will this strategy be able to deter North Korea’s provocations?


South Korea has been seeking to thwart North Korea’s attack through the so-called “tailored deterrence strategy.” If North Korea shows signs of preparing for a missile launch, Seoul would employ this strategy to first put pressure on Pyongyang through diplomatic means. When the missile launch is imminent, South Korea would strike the origin of missile attacks through the Kill Chain program. When the missile is actually launched, Seoul would use the Korean Air and Missile Defense system to deal with it. But for now, South Korea’s weapon system cannot handle all the threats from the North. After all, South Korea needs to cooperate with U.S. forces. That’s why the allies have come up with the “4D Operational Concept.” If South Korea utilizes the excellent resources of the U.S. forces under the South Korea-U.S. alliance, North Korea will be discouraged from using its weapons. Therefore, the new guideline is expected to contribute to deterring North Korea’s potential provocations.

Defense authorities of South Korea and the U.S. plan to apply the new strategy during their combined military drills. North Korea is responding angrily to this plan, as expected.


North Korea is quite upset about the approval of the 4D guideline, saying that warmongers have begun to go wild. South and North Korea have recently held their joint reunions program for separated families, but tension is still lingering between the two sides. Also, the hard-earned momentum for inter-Korean dialogue doesn’t mean that North Korea will stop its nuclear weapons development. Pyongyang, for its part, will try to block Seoul from strengthening its defense system by all means. It will also try to secure strategic superiority in order to wield influence on overall domestic affairs in South Korea, including public opinion and politics. North Korea remains unchanged in this stance.


The recent development is likely to affect inter-Korean relations, which have maintained a reconciliatory mood since the reunions for separated families.

Basically, a defense system is something that South Korea should be equipped with as a nation, regardless of inter-Korean dialogue. When it comes to national defense, South Korea cannot make concessions. While giving a strong warning to North Korea on the one hand, Seoul may also send a message on the other hand that it can provide appropriate compensation if Pyongyang cooperates to create a peaceful mood. This principle will unlikely be a stumbling block in the way of inter-Korean dialogue. It’s necessary to create a system aimed at building mutual trust and discouraging North Korea from making provocations. This is a grave task that the authorities will have to contend with.

The South Korean government should wisely apply the two-track policy of responding firmly to any provocation from North Korea while leaving open the door for dialogue. We’ll wait and see how the government strengthens the nation’s security while promoting dialogue at the same time.


[Interview]Law Academy for Inter-Korean Economic Cooperation

At 7 p.m. on October 21, the ninth-term Law Academy for Inter-Korean Economic Cooperation opened in Myeongdong, downtown Seoul. Some 50 trainees would attend the class for the next six weeks.


I’m Lee Jang-hee, professor of emeritus at Hankuk University of Foreign Studies and standing representative of the Civil Headquarters for Activating the South-North Economic Cooperation in Korea. The Law Academy for Inter-Korean Economic Cooperation is the most important program of our organization. We believe that South and North Korea should coordinate the legalization issues properly in order to advance their relations further. To this end, legal experts are needed. This academy serves the purpose of nurturing specialists who will deal with legal systems at the Gaeseong Industrial Complex and the inter-Korean basic agreements. In a broader context, they could handle overall pending issues about inter-Korean economic cooperation and their potential influences on the Korean Peninsula.


The academy was launched in October 2007, with 34 trainees enrolling in the first term. Since then, about 400 people have completed the course. This time, too, a great many people applied for the program.


I work at a biotech firm. My company produces injections using human placenta. Under the Unification Ministry’s approval, we once contacted Pyongyang Maternity Clinic for this business. But we couldn’t communicate well with those in Pyongyang, and the business remains suspended for now. We’re hoping to contact them again to restart the business. Having this hope in mind, I signed up for this program.

Personally, I think unification is near at hand. I was wondering how economists and other experts are preparing for unification. I thought their opinions might be helpful for setting my own future direction. That’s why I became interested in this class.


Anyone can apply for the program, as long as they are interested in business in North Korea and inter-Korean relations, as well as preparation for unification. A number of businesspeople who have already engaged in inter-Korean economic cooperation projects are attending the class.


I’m the president of a firm called “Mountains and Fields” that produces agricultural and fisheries products. It is the first South Korean company that started processing-on-commission business outside of the Gaeseong Industrial Park. Unfortunately, the business has been halted for five years due to South Korea’s economic sanctions against the North. I felt frustrated with the current situation and I also wanted to widen my vision. That’s why I’m here.



The company set up a garlic processing plant in Gaeseong in North Korea in October 2006 to bring in garlic produced in South Korea and process it in the North. The business drew attention as it successfully applied South Korea’s capital and North Korea’s labor to the field of processed food. However, the plant, which cost 2.3 million US dollars to build, became useless after Seoul’s economic sanctions against Pyongyang. Of course, this dealt a serious blow to the firm. Company president Park Jong-hwa came to this academy in the hopes of restarting his business.


When I first entered North Korea, I only thought about my business item. But now, I have to learn other things as well, including political issues, in order to keep up with the times. That’s why I try to participate in educational programs like this. In a sense, people like me have played a role of diplomats in terms of facilitating unification. I hope that things will get better soon so I can do business just as I did in the past, or more actively than before.


Mr. Park will accumulate extensive knowledge here so he can establish infrastructure needed to operate his factory again immediately after inter-Korean economic cooperation resumes. The academy started its ninth-term with a special lecture by former Unification Minister Jeong Se-hyeon. Throughout his lecture, Jeong stressed the importance of establishing a peace regime on the Korean Peninsula. He concluded that it’s crucial to revitalize economic cooperation between the two Koreas.


It’s necessary to boost economic cooperation since it plays a key role in bringing unification closer. If South and North Korea are increasingly becoming dependent on each other economically, they will automatically develop bilateral relations. In the process of vitalizing economic cooperation, security conditions will also be stabilized and people on either side of the border will interact with one another more often. In other words, economic cooperation is the quickest way to promote unification.


The academy shows a wide spectrum of inter-Korean economic cooperation, including legal knowledge and a rough sketch of the future unification of Korea. This is a meaningful venue for education, where people can lay the groundwork for unification.