ROK, US agree to joint operation plan against DPRK's nuke, missile threats

SEOUL - Defense chiefs of the Republic of Korea (ROK) and the United States agreed Monday to joint operation plans against nuclear and missile threats from the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK).

US Defense Secretary Ashton Carter, who arrived in Seoul Sunday for a two-day visit, held the 47th round of the Security Consultative Meeting (SCM), the annual defense ministers' meeting between Seoul and Washington, with his South Korean counterpart Han Min-Koo at Seoul's defense ministry headquarters.

The talks resulted in a 16-point joint statement, which approved the so-called "4D operation plan" to detect, track and destroy the DPRK's ballistic missiles mounted with nuclear or biochemical warheads.

The 4D plan for joint military operations and exercises, which stands for Detect, Disrupt, Destroy and Defense, will reportedly be reflected in the "Operation Plan 5015" of the US-ROK combined forces that will replace the former "Operation Plan 5027" to defend the ROK from possible DPRK missile threats.

The joint anti-missile strategy means a concept of closely watching moves in the DPRK's nuclear and missile bases with US surveillance assets, like military satellites and high-altitude unmanned aerial vehicles, to strike the targets in the DPRK in times of emergency with precision-striking weapons of both Seoul and Washington.