SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — The U.S. and South Korea signed joint nuclear deterrence guidelines, weeks after North Korea and Russia signed a defense pact which deepened concerns in the region about growing nuclear threats from the North.
Meeting on Thursday on the sidelines of a NATO Summit In Washington, President Joe Biden and South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol praised what they called “the tremendous progress” their countries’ alliance has made a year after creating a joint Nuclear Advisory Group.
Last year, the US and South Korea launched the bilateral consultation body improve information sharing on nuclear and strategic operations. The US will maintain control of its nuclear weapons, and the creation of the body was intended to alleviate South Korean concerns about North Korean nuclear threats.
The two leaders authorized “the U.S.-ROK Guidelines for Nuclear Deterrence and Nuclear Operations on the Korean Peninsula” that were signed by their defense officials on Thursday, according to South Korea’s presidential office. ROK stands for Republic of Korea, the official name of South Korea.
“The presidents underscored that the Guidelines document provides a solid foundation for enhancing U.S.-ROK expanded deterrence cooperation in an integrated manner,” the joint statement said.
The first guidelines agreed between the two countries are part of an effort to fulfill the US commitment to defend the South. Washington has long promised to use all its capabilities, including nuclear weapons, to defend Seoul if it is attacked.
The Biden-Yoon statement said any nuclear attack by North Korea against South Korea would be met with “a swift, overwhelming and decisive response.”
Kim Tae-hyo, deputy director of national security in South Korea, told reporters that the agreement envisions the integration of U.S. nuclear capabilities and South Korean conventional weapons to better respond to North Korean nuclear threats. He said the two countries will hold joint military exercises to help implement deterrence guidelines.
Details of nuclear deterrence guidelines between South Korea and the US, which Seoul considered confidential, were not available. But North Korea is still expected to respond angrily, as it has already accused its rivals of using the consultation group to plan a nuclear attack on the North.
North Korea’s developing nuclear arsenal is a major threat to the security of South Korea, which does not possess nuclear weapons and largely depends on the U.S. “nuclear umbrella.” Some experts and politicians in South Korea have openly questioned the credibility of the US commitmentas recent North Korean weapons tests show the country is increasingly closer to acquiring long-range nuclear missiles capable of reaching the US mainland.
Concerns about North Korea have deepened further since North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and Russian President Vladimir Putin signed an agreement in June agreement that requires each country provide help to the other if attacked and promised to boost further cooperation. Analysts say the agreement represents the strongest link between the two countries since the end of the Cold War.
