Congress report urges U.S. preparedness for simultaneous conflicts with China, Russia, N. Korea, and Iran

A U.S. Congress report has urged the United States to prepare for potential simultaneous wars with China, Russia, North Korea, and Iran. This report also argues that U.S. Forces in Korea should be maintained regardless of the outcome of the upcoming presidential election, countering Republican candidate Donald Trump's proposal to withdraw or reduce these forces to cut defense costs.

The National Security Research Division (NSRD), operating under the U.S. Congress, released the "Report on the Commission on the National Defense Strategy" on Monday. The report stresses the need for the U.S. to be ready for simultaneous conflicts with major adversaries like China, Russia, North Korea, and Iran, warning of possible defeat in wars against near-peer adversaries in the near future. The National Defense Strategy Commission forms a bipartisan independent committee when the administration publishes the national defense strategy report. This committee then provides recommendations for revising the national strategy report to Congress. Former Under Secretary of Defense Eric Edelman is among the report's editors.

The report highlights the security collaboration among North Korea, China, Russia, and Iran, noting that the National Defense Strategy Report released in 2022 under the Biden administration did not account for the risks of simultaneous conflicts in different regions. It recommends that the strategy report should reflect the possibility of such simultaneous conflicts, emphasizing the need to strengthen the defense capabilities of U.S. forces and their allies. This would enable the U.S. to engage in conflicts with North Korea and Iran even if it is already engaged with China and Russia.

The report also emphasizes the lessons from the Ukraine war, stating the continued importance of heavy armored forces, particularly in Europe, and asserting that this need extends to any contingency on the Korean Peninsula. Contrary to suggestions that U.S. Forces in Korea should be restructured to focus on the Air Force and Marine Corps for potential disputes with China, the report underscores the necessity of maintaining army-oriented military forces in the region.


워싱턴=문병기 특파원 weappon@donga.com