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| President Yoon Suk Yeol shakes hands with his U.S. counterpart Joe Biden after signing a photo book on the history of the two countries' 70-year alliance at the White House, Washington, D.C., Tuesday (local time). Joint Press Corps |
Alliance enhanced through new ROK-US nuclear consulting group, regular deployment of nuclear assets
By Nam Hyun-woo
WASHINGTON, D.C. ― Presidents Yoon Suk Yeol and Joe Biden will adopt a new joint statement called the Washington Declaration during their summit slated for Wednesday (local time), which will include details on establishing a new South Korea-U.S. Nuclear Consultative Group (NCG), presidential spokesperson Lee Do-woon said, Tuesday. The NCG will be a regular bilateral consultation mechanism focusing on nuclear and strategic planning issues.
The declaration will also include Washington's intention to make its deterrence commitments to Seoul more visible through the regular deployment of strategic assets, including visits by a U.S. nuclear submarine to its vital and longstanding strategic ally, according to senior officials of the Biden administration, who said it is a step that has not been taken since the early 1980s.
"During their summit tomorrow, Presidents Yoon and Biden will adopt the Washington Declaration, which contains stronger extended deterrence measures, including plans to establish a new South Korea-U.S. NCG," Lee said in a written briefing released ahead of the summit. "We expect that this will help the mechanism for information sharing, joint planning and joint execution of extended deterrence to operate more systematically."
The declaration is assumed to be a special document on extended deterrence that both Seoul and Washington said their leaders will sign during the summit. Yoon has been in Washington, D.C. since Monday as part of his state visit to the U.S.
According to the U.S. officials, the declaration comes as the two countries are exploring ways to evolve their 70-year-old alliance to cope with "problems of tomorrow," especially growing challenges posed by North Korea's nuclear and missile programs.
The officials said the declaration will include steps "designed to strengthen U.S. extended deterrence commitments" and "strengthen the clarity with which they are seen by the [South] Korean public" in the wake of ongoing threats of nuclear strikes by North Korea.
Highlighting the declaration is the establishment of the new NCG that will "focus on nuclear and strategic planning issues."
The U.S. officials said the group will give additional insight on U.S. plans for major contingencies to South Korean counterparts and give South Korea a voice in those deliberations. This is interpreted as South Korea's participation in nuclear planning, although it remains unclear how much of a say Seoul will have in the use of U.S. nuclear weapons.
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The U.S. deployed nuclear weapons in South Korea during the Cold War. But they were removed in the 1990s. Since then, there have been no nuclear weapons on South Korean soil and although the Yoon administration had been hinting at developing or possessing its own nuclear weapons, it now appears to have made an about-face on the issue.
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| This photo, provided by the U.S. Pacific Fleet on Feb. 25, shows the USS Springfield nuclear-powered attack submarine arriving at a South Korean Navy base in Busan. / U.S. Pacific Fleet |
Also in the declaration is the U.S. intention to regularly deploy strategic assets, including nuclear ballistic missile submarines, to South Korea. These vessels are capable of launching ballistic missiles armed with nuclear warheads.
Recently, the U.S. deployed the nuclear-powered attack submarine, USS Springfield, and aircraft carrier USS Nimitz to South Korea to send warnings to North Korea. U.S. officials say the deployment of a submarine with ballistic nuclear missile capabilities will elevate the level of warning to the North and act as a "very clear demonstration" of its extended deterrence.
The U.S. officials said this will strengthen the two countries' training and simulation activities to deter North Korean threats and better integrate South Korea's conventional assets into U.S. strategic planning.
While the U.S. is making stronger promises on the provision of extended deterrence, Seoul also noted that it will maintain its non-nuclear status and continue to abide by the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty.
The Washington Declaration is expected to form the groundwork of joint efforts between Seoul and Washington in countering the North's threats down the road.
So far, the U.S. has been affirming its extended deterrence commitment to South Korea, describing that it will use the full range of America's defense capabilities, including nuclear, conventional and missile defense systems.
However, Seoul has been seeking to elevate and clarify that commitment further as Pyongyang continues to make progress in its nuclear weapons program, amid signs that the regime may conduct its seventh nuclear weapons test in the near future.
One Biden administration official said, "It is meant to be crystal clear that the United States and ROK understand the stakes."
Although the declaration is aimed at keeping peace and stability on the Korean Peninsula, it is expected to draw angry responses from China due to the regular deployment of U.S. strategic assets in South Korea.
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