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US President Joe Biden shakes hands with South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol during their summit on the sidelines of the NATO summit in Washington, DC, on July 11, 2024 (local time). (Yonhap)

Following their summit on Thursday, the presidents of South Korea and the United States released a joint statement on newly adopted joint nuclear deterrence guidelines, in a move that the South Korean presidential office lauded as “establishing an integrated South Korea-US deterrence system.” 

Presidents Yoon Suk-yeol and Joe Biden held a standalone bilateral summit on Thursday (local time) on the sidelines of the 2024 NATO summit, which was held in Washington, DC, from Tuesday through Thursday. 

The two leaders emphasized in their joint statement that they reaffirm the content of the Washington Declaration adopted in April 2023 that upgraded US extended deterrence over Korea, and underscored that any nuclear attack by North Korea will be countered with a forceful response through integrated deterrence.  

In their joint statement, the two leaders said that they “reaffirmed their commitments in the US-ROK Washington Declaration and highlighted that any nuclear attack by the DPRK against the ROK will be met with a swift, overwhelming and decisive response.”

DPRK stands for North Korea’s official name, the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea. 

“President Biden reiterated that the US commitment to extended deterrence to the ROK is backed by the full range of US capabilities, including nuclear,” the statement continued. 

“President Yoon reiterated that the ROK’s full range of capabilities will greatly contribute to the Alliance’s combined defense posture.” 

The two presidents also authorized the “US-ROK Guidelines for Nuclear Deterrence and Nuclear Operations on the Korean Peninsula,” which guides the Nuclear Consultative Group and forms the basis of “joint planning and execution for South Korean conventional support to US nuclear operations in a contingency.”

The Nuclear Consultative Group was formed to carry out the commitments detailed in the Washington Declaration. The group is co-headed by Cho Chang-rae, Seoul’s deputy defense minister for policy, and Vipin Narang, the acting US assistant secretary of defense for space policy, who signed the nuclear deterrence guidelines in Seoul in June. Biden and Yoon added their own signatures to the guidelines ahead of their summit on Thursday.

“The progress made since the establishment of the US-ROK Nuclear Consultative Group (NCG) demonstrates the truly global, comprehensive, strategic alliance between the two countries, the ever-stronger mutual defense relationship, and our shared interest in peace, stability, and the complete denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula,” the joint statement said. 

The joint statement also emphasized “the need to continue to make swift progress on NCG workstreams, including security protocols and expansion of information sharing; nuclear consultation processes in crises and contingencies; nuclear and strategic planning; ROK conventional support to U.S. nuclear operations in a contingency through conventional-nuclear integration; strategic communications; exercises, simulations, training, and investment activities; and risk reduction practices.”

Kim Tae-hyo, the first deputy director of Korea’s National Security Office, held a press briefing on the joint statement on the same day. 

“We have set the grounds for an integrated deterrence network led by both South Korea and the United States,” Kim announced. 

“The prior deterrence system was determined and delivered exclusively by the US. Now, the network has evolved into an extended deterrence system that allows South Korean organizations, talent and resources to participate in nuclear and strategic planning,” Kim added. 

“The South Korea-US alliance, which was based on conventional weapons before, has been resolutely upgraded into a truly nuclear-based alliance,” Kim continued. 

 “The joint statement is the first time the US has declared on paper that it will assign specific missions to the Republic of Korea that aid US nuclear assets and complement Washington’s deterrence and countermeasures against North Korea, a special promise that the US has delivered to its ally in South Korea,” Kim said.

“Through conventional-nuclear integration, the Republic of Korea military and the US military will expand intelligence sharing, conduct joint nuclear consultations, jointly plan nuclear and strategic operations, conduct joint strategic training exercises, and jointly conduct nuclear and strategic operations. This has furnished us with real-life capacity to respond to nuclear threats and an increased combat defense posture,” Kim went on.

By Lee Seung-jun, staff reporter

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