The US and South Korea update their strategy to deter North Korea.

US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin and his South Korean counterpart Shin Won-sik attended a welcoming ceremony in Seoul on November 13.

Yonhap News Agency reported on November 13 that South Korea and the United States updated their joint deterrence strategy against North Korea at their annual security dialogue, in an effort to counter the missile and nuclear threat from Pyongyang.

At the 55th Security Consultative Meeting (SCM), South Korean Defense Minister Shin Won-sik and his U.S. counterpart Lloyd Austin signed a document adjusting the Customized Deterrence Strategy (TDS), the first revision since its introduction in 2013 following North Korea's third nuclear test.

The U.S. and South Korea have worked to update this crucial military document to better reflect North Korea's nuclear and missile threats, as Pyongyang has conducted six nuclear tests and enacted legislation granting it the right to use preemptive nuclear strikes in self-defense.

Secretary Austin reaffirmed the U.S. commitment to "extended deterrence," using its full military capabilities, including nuclear ones, to defend South Korea.

Minister Shin said that the increased deployment of strategic assets to South Korea by the U.S. this year, including the first port call of a nuclear submarine in over 40 years and the first landing of a B-52 strategic bomber, has helped increase the credibility of the U.S. commitment to expanded deterrence.

On November 14th, Secretary Austin is scheduled to attend the first ministerial-level meeting of defense ministers between South Korea and the 17 member states of the United Nations Command (UNC), before traveling to Indonesia. The UNC was established in 1950 and oversaw the implementation of the armistice agreement that ended the Korean War (1950-1953).

In response to this information, North Korea reiterated its call for the dissolution of the UNC, and stated that the upcoming meeting was "dangerous."

Calling the UNC an "instrument of war," the Institute for Peace and Disarmament Studies under the North Korean Ministry of Foreign Affairs issued a statement saying that the security situation on the Korean Peninsula has been pushed into a "structure geared towards war" by the US and related parties.

According to the South Korean Ministry of Defense , participants in the November 14 meeting are expected to call on North Korea to cease "illegal activities" and comply with United Nations Security Council resolutions, and to adopt a joint statement calling for a collective response in the event of an unexpected situation on the peninsula.

The South Korean Unification Ministry criticized North Korea's latest statement as a repetition of its "far-fetched" demand to dissolve the UNC. Ministry spokesman Koo Byoung-sam said the UNC is "a model of international solidarity because it has played a vital role in maintaining South Korea's freedom and peace for the past 70 years."

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