Countering North Korea: South Korea’s New Strategic Command Takes Shape

A joint U.S.-South Korea ballistic missile launch exercise. Photo provided by the Joint Chiefs of Staff.

The military authorities plan to expand the Joint Chiefs of Staff’s Nuclear/WMD Response Headquarters, established in January to respond to North Korea’s nuclear and missile threats and establish a Strategic Command as early as next year. The Nuclear/WMD Response Headquarters is a new department that has added information, operations, power, and combat development functions to the existing Nuclear/WMD Response Center under the Joint Chiefs of Staff’s Strategic Planning Headquarters to dramatically strengthen the deterrence response capability and posture against various threats from North Korea’s nuclear and missiles. It is the fifth headquarters of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, following the existing Information Headquarters, Operations Headquarters, Strategic Planning Headquarters, and Military Support Headquarters. WMD stands for weapons of mass destruction.

The Nuclear/WMD Response Headquarters aims to lead the development of the Korean-style 3-axis system and integrate the capabilities in the cyber, electromagnetic spectrum, and space domains. In the future, the Nuclear/WMD Response Headquarters is expected to serve as the basis for establishing a Strategic Command optimized for our strategic environment through operation and verification until just before its establishment as the mother unit of the Strategic Command.

The Strategic Command is an organization that oversees the Korean-style 3-axis system composed of a Kill Chain, Korean-style Missile Defense System (KAMD), and Massive Retaliation (KMPR). It is expected to command the operations of strategic assets such as Hyunmoo series ballistic missiles, stealth fighters, and 3,000-ton submarines. The command will have units responsible for operating each asset under the Strategic Command.

A military official explained, “The establishment of the Nuclear/WMD Response Headquarters and the subsequent establishment of the Strategic Command are dimensions of re-establishing the offensive North Korea operation concept against North Korea’s escalating threats.”

Controlling Air and Naval Assets

During the Moon Jae-in administration, there was a time when the plan to expand the Joint Chiefs of Staff’s Nuclear/WMD Response Center and establish a provisional Nuclear/WMD Response Operation Agency and Strategic Command was promoted. Still, it was not realized under the dialogue principle. The term Korean-style 3-axis system was changed to Nuclear/WMD Response System.

The military authorities’ plan to establish a Strategic Command is essentially a measure reflecting the firm intention of the president. President Yoon Suk Yeol also ordered at the first meeting of the Defense Innovation Committee held at the Yongsan Presidential Office on May 11, “We need a drastic change at the level of the second creation of the military to create a combat-type strong military that can win and give confidence to the people,” and “Especially, we need to strengthen our military’s proactive deterrence response capability against North Korea’s nuclear and missile threats.”

President Yoon also said, “I am considering establishing a Strategic Command to integrate and operate efficiently the dispersed power capabilities of the three military branches against North Korea’s nuclear and missile threats,” reaffirming the policy of establishing a Strategic Command.

On July 6 last year, the government publicly declared that it would launch a Korean-style Strategic Command that commands the operations of strategic assets such as Hyunmoo missiles, KTSSM, Patriot missiles, L-SAM, stealth fighter F-35, 3,000-ton submarines (Dosan Ahn Chang-ho class), and reconnaissance satellites (425 Project) for missile defense, missile attack, and retaliatory strike.

The target time for establishment is next year, and the manpower requirements will be derived within this year. A military source said, “A rough direction has come out on what mission and role the strategic company will play,” and “As soon as the internal review is finished, such as completing the legal procedures necessary for the establishment next year, we will soon consult with the U.S. side.”

Kim Seung-kyum, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff (fifth from the right in the front row), is taking a commemorative photo with the soldiers of the Nuclear/WMD Response Headquarters at the establishment ceremony of the Nuclear/WMD Response Headquarters held at the Joint Chiefs of Staff in Yongsan-gu, Seoul on January 2—photo provided by the Joint Chiefs of Staff.

The Ministry of National Defense and the Joint Chiefs of Staff are currently conducting internal reviews on the mission, organization, command structure, wartime command system, strategic assets to command, and the rank of the commander of the Strategic Command.

However, the goal of the unit has been clarified by the president’s remarks. Regarding the mission of the Strategic Command, President Yoon Suk Yeol said in a commemorative speech on the 75th Armed Forces Day on September 26, “Our military is building an overwhelming response capability and retaliation posture, including the Korean-style 3-axis system, and will soon establish a Strategic Command that will command strategic assets in response to North Korea’s nuclear and missile threats.” He emphasized that the unit that will command our military’s strategic assets in response to North Korea’s nuclear and missile threats is the Strategic Command.

The Ministry of National Defense also presented the mission of the Strategic Command as “to deter North Korea’s nuclear and missile threats by integrating and operating our military’s high-precision, high-power strike capability and capabilities in various areas such as space, cyber, and electromagnetism.” Yoo Moo-bong, director of the Ministry of National Defense’s Reform Office, announced in a presentation titled ‘The Role of Cyber and Electromagnetic Warfare in the Development of the Three-Axis System’ at the ‘Korean-British Cyber Seminar’ in February that “the Strategic Command controls the missile unit, cyber operations command, space operations unit, electromagnetic spectrum operations unit, special mission operations unit, F-35, and submarine units.”

The rank of the commander of the Strategic Command is currently being considered as a lieutenant general. This seems to be the command relationship with the Joint Chiefs of Staff, the Army, Navy, and Air Force chiefs of staff, who are generals.

Defense Minister Announces First Commander of New Strategic Command to be an Air Force Lieutenant General

Shin Won-sik, the Minister of National Defense, announced on November 3 at a meeting with reporters that he will seat an Air Force Lieutenant General (3-star general) as the first commander of the Strategic Command (Strategic Command), which suppresses North Korea’s nuclear and missile threats and responds in case of emergency. Minister Shin said, “I told the Air Force Chief of Staff to leave a spot so that an Air Force Lieutenant General can become the commander of the Strategic Command in the personnel reshuffle next spring,” and, “I think the establishment of the command will be around the second half of next year.”

The military is said to have leaned towards establishing the Strategic Command under the Joint Chiefs of Staff after reviewing whether to place the Strategic Command under the Ministry of National Defense or the Joint Chiefs of Staff. Although there was an opinion that it is advantageous for national-level response and decision-making if it is organized under the Ministry of National Defense, it is known that there were many internal opinions that it is better to put it under the Joint Chiefs of Staff for strategic task performance such as war preparation. Of course, the U.S. Strategic Command receives military orders from the Secretary of Defense without going through the Joint Chiefs of Staff. This seems to be due to the structure in which the U.S. Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff does not exercise operational control.

Jeong Kyung-woon, a military research member at the Korean Military Issues Research Institute, evaluated, “In the joint defense system, it is advantageous for the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff to command the Strategic Command in terms of preparing and performing conventional wars,” and “However, in terms of maintaining peacetime capabilities and readiness, responding to nuclear wars and threats from neighboring countries, and possessing independent capabilities of the military commander, the president, it is advantageous for the Secretary of Defense to command the Strategic Command.”

Data: Joint Chiefs of Staff

Controversies and Challenges in Command Structure

There’s an ongoing debate over the command and control structure of StratCom, especially its operational relationship with the U.S.-South Korea Combined Forces Command during wartime. Concerns are raised about potential conflicts with the missions of the JCS and individual military branches, leading to possible command and control confusion. The strategic weapons of the South Korean military are currently under the operational control of their respective units, potentially complicating the command structure during peacetime and wartime.

Moreover, establishing StratCom aligns with the objectives of the ‘Washington Declaration,’ agreed upon by President Yoon Suk-yeol and U.S. President Joe Biden in April. This declaration reaffirms South Korea’s commitment to contribute all its capabilities to the combined defense posture of the Korea-U.S. alliance, including close cooperation between the new Strategic Command and the Combined Forces Command.

A Ministry of National Defense official stated that they are profoundly considering how to harmonize the newly established StratCom with the effective extended deterrence assured by the new government under the Washington Declaration.

Diverse Opinions on the Command and Control of StratCom

There are differing views on whether StratCom should be controlled by the Combined Forces Command during wartime. The Combined Forces Command has agreed to transition into the Future Combined Forces Command, with a South Korean Army General as the commander and the U.S. Forces Korea commander as the deputy commander.

Some high-ranking military officials argue that in the current setup, 75% of the South Korean military might come under U.S. operational control during wartime, raising questions about the strategic autonomy of South Korea. Others advocate for a unified command system where StratCom operates under the Future Combined Forces Command for efficiency.

Considering StratCom will command strategic weapons of the Army, Navy, and Air Force, its organization as a joint force is expected. However, there’s some resistance within the Navy and Air Force regarding strategic assets like the F-35A and 3,000-ton submarines being controlled by StratCom, as it may limit their independent operational capabilities in response to North Korean provocations.

There’s also a proposal for rotating the command of StratCom among the Army, Navy, and Air Force, similar to the U.S. system, where command turns irregularly among the Army, Navy, and Marine Corps. The current roster of lieutenant generals in the Navy and Air Force stands at ten, and a rotation system might require adjustments in these positions.

The Ministry of National Defense has expressed concerns that a rotational system for the commander position could be perceived as bureaucratic and is carefully considering the best operational approach for StratCom.

By. Lee Hyun Ho