Pentagon: Arms Buildup in South Korea to Deter China, "No Taiwan Replacement", and "Korea-Japan Unity"
The US Department of Defense strategic document states that the top priority for armaments buildup in South Korea is to deter China and that "regime change is not necessary" is a strategic starting point for responding to Taiwan. It shifts USFK to respond to Taiwan and conflates South Korea and Japan as targets of North Korean attacks.
The US National Defense Strategy 2026 refers to North Korea by its official name, "DPRK," and goes on to state that "these forces are growing in size and sophistication, are clear, and pose a nuclear threat to the US mainland," while citing the Korean Peninsula as a "balancing of responsibility with South Korea," "modernizing the US military posture," and "maximizing defense burden sharing."
The Pentagon specifically labeled North Korea as "posing a direct threat to Japan" and, in its response to a North Korean attack, "striking targets in the ROK and Japan," abruptly shifting the focus from North Korea to "South Korea and Japan" as common targets of attack.
SK Group Chairman Chey Tae-won's calls for "South Korea-Japan economic integration" and "AI sovereignty" on the 18th are in line with the establishment of a "joint defense system for South Korea, Japan, and North Korea," newly defined in the US National Defense Strategy.
The 25-page National Defense Strategy document (2026NDS), which guides US Department of Defense policy, states, "North Korea poses a direct military threat not only to South Korea but also to Japan. Both are treaty allies of the United States." The document also states, "Despite North Korea's large conventional forces, if they are aging or poorly managed, South Korea must be vigilant against North Korean threats. South Korea could be invaded. North Korea's missile capabilities could also strike targets in South Korea. Japan possesses conventional weapons, nuclear weapons, and other weapons of mass destruction. At the same time, North Korea's nuclear capabilities are increasingly capable of threatening the United States."
Reuters reported on the 24th that the strategy document stated, "South Korea could assume primary responsibility for deterring North Korea with critical but limited support from the United States," and that "this shift in the balance of responsibility is consistent with U.S. interest in updating the U.S. military presence on the Korean Peninsula."
Reuters also reported that a U.S. official said that Elbridge Colby, the Pentagon's top policy officer, will visit Asia next week and visit South Korea.
The Pentagon document released on the 23rd stated that in the Indo-Pacific region, the Department of Defense is focused on preventing China from dominating the United States or its allies. While it did not directly mention Taiwan, it stated, "This does not require regime change or other existential struggle. Rather, a suitable peace that is advantageous to the United States but that China can also accept and live under is possible." This statement underscored the need for U.S. forces in South Korea to avoid "attempts at regime change in Taiwan."
Reuters reported on the 24th that <the Pentagon document builds on President Trump's national security strategy released last year, stating that the United States will re-establish dominance in the Western Hemisphere, strengthen its military in the Indo-Pacific, and reassess its relationship with Europe>, and <according to the policy document, the Pentagon sees a "more limited" role in deterring North Korea, with South Korea taking primary responsibility for this mission. This could lead to a reduction in the number of US troops on the Korean Peninsula>.
The Associated Press reported on the 24th that <the new policy document views China, which the Biden administration views as its archrival, as an entrenched power in the Indo-Pacific region, and that it only needs to restrain it from dominating the United States or its allies>, writing that <the goal is "not to dominate China; nor is it to strangle or humiliate them," adding that "this does not require regime change or other existential struggles.">, under the title "No Regime Change in Taiwan."
The AP continued, "The strategy does not mention or guarantee Taiwan, the self-ruled island Beijing claims as autonomous and has said it will seize by force if necessary. The United States is obligated under its own law to provide military assistance to Taiwan." In contrast, the Biden administration's 2022 strategy states that the United States will "support Taiwan's asymmetric self-defense."
The AP reported that "partners from Europe to Asia have criticized the previous U.S. administration's reliance on defense spending and called for a "radical shift in approach, focus, and tone." This has led to a blunt assessment that allies will shoulder more of the burden of confronting nations from Russia to North Korea. In another example of the shift in regional security to allies, the document states that "South Korea could assume primary responsibility for deterring North Korea, with critical but limited support from the United States."
At a New Year's press conference, President Lee Jae-myung addressed North Korea's declaration of separation of North and South Korea. He stated, "As long as I am entrusted with the power of the people and run the government, my belief is that we should find a practical path that benefits the people of the Republic of Korea, the Republic of Korea, the entire world, and North Korea, and I will continue to pursue that path."
He added, "The basic premise is to strengthen the nation." He declared, "Practicality is military buildup," and redefined the denuclearization of North Korea as the denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula.
Reuters reported that at a December 3rd press conference with foreign media, "President Lee launched a charm offensive to manage Seoul's high-stakes relationship with key allies, praising Trump for his role as a 'peace broker' with North Korea and gifting him a replica of a gold crown during his visit to South Korea." The report also stated, "Trump is a pragmatist."
Reuters continued, saying President Lee said, "I found my conversation with President Trump very interesting and entertaining. I think I felt a sense of kinship." The report added, "The South Korean president expressed hope that Trump could persuade North Korean leader Kim Jong Un to resume talks and that Pyongyang appears to take Washington more seriously than Seoul in maintaining its regime."
Reuters reported on the 24th, "Prime Minister Kim Min-seok said he and Vice President Vance discussed how Washington could improve relations with North Korea and suggested Trump consider sending a special envoy to Pyongyang."
The U.S. Defense Strategy document stated that, regarding the Korean Peninsula, "South Korea, with its strong military, high defense spending, robust defense industry, and mandatory military conscription, has the capacity to take the lead in deterring North Korea while receiving significant but limited support from the United States."
Furthermore, South Korea is fully willing to do so, as it faces a direct and clear threat from North Korea. This shift in the balance of responsibility aligns with the U.S. interest in modernizing the U.S. military posture on the Korean Peninsula. This will allow us to build a stronger national defense strategy that better aligns with U.S. defense priorities, build mutually beneficial alliances, and lay the foundation for a lasting peace. This directly outlines the changes in the role and scale of U.S. forces stationed in Korea.
The strategic document continued, "To this end, the Department of Defense will prioritize strengthening incentives for allies and partners to take leading responsibility for their own defense while receiving significant, but limited, U.S. support in Europe, the Middle East, and the Korean Peninsula."
At the same time, "we will facilitate, to the greatest extent possible, our allies and partners to share more of the burden of our shared defense. This includes close cooperation on force and operational plans and a close effort to strengthen the readiness of our forces to execute critical missions." This was referred to as an "increase in defense spending on South Korea."
The strategy document states in the section titled “We must strengthen the U.S. defense industrial base” that “President Trump is leading a once-in-a-century American industrial revival, bringing strategic industries back to the United States and reviving industries that previous generations moved overseas,” and that “We will use this historic plan to rebuild the defense industry that supports our own defense and that of our allies and partner nations. We must reclaim the world’s best arsenal, capable of producing at scale, quickly, and with the highest quality not only for ourselves but also for our allies and partner nations,” thus specifically stating the “return” of the defense industry to the U.S., which had been granted to allies such as South Korea.
The document continued, "To achieve this, we will reinvest in U.S. defense production, expand our manufacturing capacity, empower innovators, embrace new technological advancements like artificial intelligence (AI), and remove outdated policies, practices, regulations, and other obstacles that impede the type and scale of production needed for the Joint Force's immediate priorities." Furthermore, "We will simultaneously leverage the productive capacity of our allies and partners to meet our own needs while also encouraging them to increase their defense spending and support the deployment of additional troops as quickly as possible," which it called "inducing increases in defense spending by South Korea and others."
The document specifically defined the "Strength-Based Peace Strategy" as "a degeneration of allies, including South Korea, into a subservient relationship due to a defense industry superiority system."
South Korea's defense industry rapidly grew into a "distribution network for low-cost US-standard weapons" by manufacturing US self-propelled artillery, tanks, and Boeing F-16s based on blueprints provided without intellectual property rights to maintain the Cold War system. This was achieved by modifying these designs into "Korean-style" versions, and South Korea, as a low-cost supplier of US-standard weapons in Eastern Europe's strategy to attract NATO membership, became a strategic weapon for boosting stock prices.
The 2018 Panmunjom Declaration between North and South Korea centered on a "disarmament agreement." However, the agreement was broken when the US Republican Party's "peace based on strength" policy prioritized military buildups over stock price increases. President Lee Jae-myung, the first to embrace the "America First" strategy of pressuring allies to build up their arms, made the resumption of dialogue with North Korea seem impossible.
See <Trump's Whipsaw Diplomacy: Lee Jae-myung Says "North Korea's Nuclear Removal is Denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula," January 23, 2026>
<Lee Jae-myung's "Implementation of Disarmament" in Inter-Korean Military Agreement: "Arms Buildup Priority" Violates Panmunjom Declaration, January 22, 2026>
<EU: "Power Determines the Future: Far-Right": Choi Tae-won: "Korea-Japan Economic Integration: AI Sovereignty," January 19, 2026>
<South Korea's Arms Buildup: Strength-Based Peace Violates Panmunjom Declaration's Disarmament Agreement, June 16, 2020>
<Greenland 'Base Sovereignty' Military Base Ownership Trump NATO Agreement 'Applies' to US Forces in Korea, January 22, 2026>
<Trump's Maduro Removal, CIA Non-Diplomatic Operation, Lee Jae-myung 'Aided Trump's Dialogue,' January 2026>
<Lee Jae-myung Conceals Military Buildup, 'Coexistence and Co-Prosperity,' Chung Dong-young 'Prioritizes North Korea-US Summit,' Destroys Socialist Economy, December 19, 2025>
<Panmunjom Declaration: Inter-Korean Clashes Over 'Disarmament' and 'Railroad Connection,' May 18, 2019>