Allies' talk seen as worsening DPRK strains

Greater reliance on deterrence, drills not answer for peninsula, experts say

Talk of "strengthened deterrence" by the United States and its allies, Japan and the Republic of Korea, against the Democratic People's Republic of Korea may increase tensions on the Korean Peninsula, experts say.

With the apparent belief that denuclearization of the DPRK is not possible, the US, the ROK and Japan are doubling down on greater deterrence and military exercises to promote war-fighting readiness, if deterrence were to fail, said Mason Richey, associate professor of international politics at Hankuk University of Foreign Studies in Seoul.

US President Joe Biden, Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida and ROK President Yoon Suk-yeol agreed to work together to strengthen deterrence against the DPRK, according to a joint statement issued after a trilateral meeting on Sunday in Phnom Penh on the sidelines of the East Asia Summit.