S. Korean military establishes nuke-WMD response division

A new division tasked with countering threats from North Korea's nuclear weapons and other weapons of mass destruction (WMD) was established on Monday in South Korea. The South Korean military will set up a strategic command to control the three-pronged system to address North Korea’s threats, including the Kill Chain preemptive strike platform, by building on the new division.

The establishment of the new division will provide a foundation to significantly enhance South Korea’s deterrence of and response to various threats from North Korea, such as its sophisticated nuclear weapons, according to the South Korean military. Major General Park Hu-sung was appointed as the head of the new division. The new division was set up by adding intelligence, operation, fighting power, and combat development functions to the existing nuke and WMD response center under the strategy and planning division of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. With the establishment of the new division, the Joint Chiefs of Staff, which had four divisions – intelligence, operation, strategy and planning, and military support divisions, now has five divisions.

“I hope the new nuke and WMD response division will play a critical role in enhancing the South Korean military’s capabilities and preparedness in response to North Korea’s nuclear and missile threats,” Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Kim Seung-kyum said during the establishment ceremony on Monday. “The new division will lead the development of South Korea’s three-prolonged system and comprehensively apply the South Korean military’s capabilities in the cyber, electromagnetic spectrum, and space fields,” said a military source. “It will be operated and verified as the parent unit of a strategic command to set up a strategic command optimized for South Korea’s strategic environment.”

The strategic command will oversee the three-prolonged system consisting of the Kill Chain preemptive strike platform, the Korea Air and Missile Defense (KAMD) system, and the Korea Massive Punishment and Retaliation (KMPR) and command the operations of strategic assets against North Korea, such as Hyunmoo ballistic missiles, F-35A stealth aircraft, and 3,000-ton submarines equipped with submarine-launched ballistic missiles (SLBMs).


Sang-Ho Yun ysh1005@donga.com