South Korea and US to Hold High-Level Defense Talks in Busan Starting Sept. 16; Attention Focused on Hormuz Deployment Discussions

The Korea-U.S. Integrated Defense Dialogue (KIDD), a high-level consultation body between the defense authorities of South Korea and the United States, will be held in Busan for three days starting from the 16th.

The Ministry of National Defense announced today (the 14th) that it will host the 29th Korea-U.S. Integrated Defense Dialogue in Busan from the 16th to the 18th of this month.

Kim Hong-chul, Director General for Defense Policy at the Ministry of National Defense, and George Lemoyne, U.S. Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for East Asia, will serve as the chief delegates for their respective sides, with key officials from both nations in the defense and diplomatic sectors also in attendance.

The Ministry of National Defense stated, "During this meeting, South Korea and the U.S. plan to discuss overall alliance security issues, including the transfer of wartime operational control (OPCON), the combined defense posture, and shipbuilding cooperation."

Launched in 2011 to ensure timely and effective security consultations between South Korea and the U.S., the KIDD meeting is a high-level dialogue body that has been held once or twice a year, alternating between the two countries.

This comes approximately four months after the 28th meeting held in Washington, D.C., last May.

The upcoming meeting is also expected to potentially address the issue of troop deployment to the Strait of Hormuz, which the United States has continuously requested from allies including South Korea since the outbreak of the war in Iran earlier this year.

Ahead of the KIDD meeting, the government sent an on-site investigation team to the United Arab Emirates last week and is proceeding with concrete reviews regarding the deployment.

The investigation team is reportedly checking military bases and ports of call in the Middle East, while assessing local support conditions such as maintenance and logistics, as well as the operational environment.

The U.S. side is reportedly hoping for South Korea's deployment to take place before the midterm elections in November, while the government currently maintains a cautious stance, stating that nothing has been decided regarding the deployment.

However, the military authorities are reportedly reviewing a "list of military assets" so that assets can be deployed immediately upon a decision to dispatch troops.

Mentioned assets include maritime patrol aircraft capable of monitoring wide sea areas, explosive ordnance disposal (EOD) teams, and unmanned mine-hunting and sweeping equipment.

Should a deployment be finalized, this KIDD meeting is expected to further specify the timeline for dispatching the unit, the scale of the deployment, as well as the mission and force composition of the deployed troops.

The transfer of wartime operational control (OPCON) will also be addressed as a formal agenda item at this meeting.

The Ministry of National Defense aims to reach an agreement on the target year for the OPCON transfer during the Security Consultative Meeting (SCM) involving the defense chiefs of both countries in November, and plans to flesh out discussions toward this goal during the current meeting, which serves as preparatory groundwork for the SCM.

This marks the first time that the KIDD meeting is being held in a third location outside of Seoul and Washington, D.C.

The Ministry of National Defense stated that Busan was selected as the meeting venue to emphasize both nations' commitment to shipbuilding cooperation and South Korea's capabilities in the shipbuilding industry.

U.S. participants are reportedly scheduled to visit South Korean shipyards during their visit to the country.

(Photo: Yonhap News)
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.