US reaffirms extended deterrence commitment to S. Korea under Trump's 2nd term
This photo shows South Korean and U.S. participants attending the fifth meeting of the Nuclear Consultative Group in Washington, Thursday. Courtesy of Seoul's defense ministry
The United States has reaffirmed its commitment to providing extended deterrence to South Korea during its first meeting of a key nuclear deterrence body with the South under U.S. President Donald Trump's second term, officials said Friday.
The allies held the fifth meeting of the Nuclear Consultative Group (NCG) in Washington on Thursday, according to Seoul's defense ministry. The fourth NCG talks were held in January.
This week's meeting was led by Kim Hong-cheol, the deputy minister for national defense policy, and Robert Soofer, acting deputy assistant secretary of defense in charge of nuclear deterrence, chemical and biological policy.
According to a joint press statement, Soofer reiterated the U.S. commitment to provide extended deterrence to South Korea, utilizing the full range of U.S. defense capabilities, including nuclear.
Kim stressed that South Korea will assume the "leading role" in the conventional defense of the Korean Peninsula. It marked the first time that Seoul has laid out such a commitment on conventional defense in a joint statement issued after NCG talks.
The allies also "reviewed the progress on NCG workstreams and recognized the NCG as an enduring bilateral consultative body to strengthen the U.S.-ROK Alliance and enhance extended deterrence," the statement showed. ROK is the acronym of South Korea's official name, the Republic of Korea.
The latest NCG session marked the first such gathering under Trump's second term. A near one-year hiatus from the fourth meeting had raised doubt over whether Trump would inherit key deterrence programs created under the Biden administration.
The NCG was established as the outcome of a summit between former President Yoon Suk Yeol and former U.S. President Joe Biden in April 2023. The nuclear deterrence body was created in an effort to strengthen the credibility of the U.S. extended deterrence commitment to using the full range of its military capabilities, including nuclear, to defend South Korea.
The meeting came as the administration of President Lee Jae Myung is pushing to step up independent defense capabilities while the U.S. has been pressing its Asian ally to take on a bigger role in defense in an effort to modernize its decadeslong alliance with the South.
Lee has vowed to hike the country's defense spending to 3.5 percent of gross domestic product and retake wartime operational control to Seoul from Washington during his five-year term.
This file photo shows the South Korean flag and the U.S. flag hanging at the Gyeongju National Museum in the southeastern city of Gyeongju, North Gyeongsang Province, Oct. 29. Yonhap
Meanwhile, the latest NCG statement did not contain any reference to North Korea, unlike joint documents issued after the previous four sessions.
A statement released following the fourth NCG session included the U.S. warning that any nuclear attack by North Korea against Washington and its allies is "unacceptable" and will result in the "end of that regime."
Such phrases may have been removed in an effort to support Trump's bid to resume summit diplomacy with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un.
The joint statement, meanwhile, said both sides had in-depth discussions on all areas of extended deterrence, including information sharing, consultation and communication processes, as well as "conventional-nuclear integration."
But it did not contain the phrase of "joint planning and execution" of nuclear strategy and U.S. commitment to enhance the "regular visibility of U.S. strategic assets" on the Korean Peninsula.
The allies also approved future plans and activities for the sixth NCG meeting to be held in the first half of 2026, it said.
In response to a local news report that raised concerns over the possible weakening of the U.S. extended deterrence commitment, the defense ministry said bilateral cooperation on extended deterrence is "deepening and taking shape."
"Both South Korea and the U.S. share the view that related discussions are steadily advancing through the NCG, and (their) stance of not tolerating North Korea's nuclear program remains unwavering," the ministry said in a notice to the press.