The Third Offset Key to Korean Strategy

The Third Offset strategy will be key to ensuring the balance of power on the Korean Peninsula remains “in favor of the US-ROK alliance,” according to a new report issued by the Center for a New American Security. The Third Offset, while often associated with the development of new technologies to distance the US military from its current and potential adversaries, also has created strategic focus around issues of international collaboration, joint forces interoperability, and combatting anti-access, area denial. Specifically, the report’s authors recommend the development of “well-coordinated command and control, integration of systems and personnel, and strong political bonds at the highest levels” to counter the North Korean threat. “Perhaps the most important initiative involving Third Offset strategies implemented by the US-ROK alliance,” states the report, “is the formulation of a combined combat division in the northern part of the country facing North Korea.” The report also calls for increased spending on advanced technologies on the part of the Republic of Korea, criticizing “the National Assembly’s hesitancy to invest in expensive new systems that ultimately could be game changers in conflict.” (For more on third offset strategies, see The Third Offset in the August 2016 issue of Air Force Magazine.)