Sejong Institute held the 3rd Sejong Defense Forum on February 23 (Wednesday) from 10:00 to 12:00 at the seminar room of Somerset Palace Hotel Seoul with the theme of "reexamination of the pre-emptive strike and THAAD controversy and North Korea's nuclear response strategy". This forum was held under the leadership of Kim Heung-gyu Ajou University Professor, Kim Jungsup vice president of the Sejong Institute, andShin Bum-Cheol Research Institute for Economy and Society.
Kim Jeong-seop, deputy director of the Sejong Institute, who gave the first presentation, pointed out the problems with the claim of a preemptive strike and THAAD deployment and explained that these recent controversies show the fundamental dilemma inherent in nuclear strategy. He argued that it is difficult to achieve the two goals of deterrence and response at the same time, so in reality, proper harmony and balance between the two goals is inevitable. He emphasized that it is necessary to consider what issues and risks exist within the options we can take through fundamental reflection on the North Korean nuclear threat, and what is the optimal policy combination based on this.
Shin Beom-cheol, director of the Center for Foreign Affairs and Security at the Institute for Economic and Social Sciences, who gave the second presentation, explained the importance of the pre-emptive strike capability to completely eliminate North Korea's nuclear missiles and the necessity of deploying THAAD. It is important to prepare military countermeasures against North Korea's nuclear deterrence while at the same time pushing forward with the denuclearization negotiations in earnest. For example, it is important to secure independent intelligence surveillance and reconnaissance (ISR) capabilities and a preemptive strike capability for self-defense through the kill chain. has been emphasized.
After the two presentations, a general discussion followed. In the comprehensive discussion, military experts from various fields, including the military, government, and media, continued in-depth discussions on this topic.
Details of this meeting can be found in the attached result report, and the full forum video can be found on Sejong Institute's YouTube (https://youtu.be/SYO2-ahnIXM).