Cho Chang-rae (right), South Korea's deputy defense minister for policy, poses for a photo with Cara Abercrombie, the US acting deputy under secretary of defense for policy, prior to the fourth session of the Nuclear Consultative Group in Washington, on Jan. 10. (Newsis)
Cho Chang-rae (right), South Korea's deputy defense minister for policy, poses for a photo with Cara Abercrombie, the US acting deputy under secretary of defense for policy, prior to the fourth session of the Nuclear Consultative Group in Washington, on Jan. 10. (Newsis)

South Korea and the United States will keep their Nuclear Consultative Group (NCG) running under the administration of US President Donald Trump despite speculation it could be scrapped, with its next meeting set to take place as early as June, an official said Wednesday.

The NCG was launched by former South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol and former US President Joe Biden following their April 2023 summit to strengthen the US "extended deterrence" commitment to defending its ally South Korea with all of its military capabilities, including nuclear weapons.

"We agreed to operate the NCG meetings normally under the US Trump administration and are coordinating our schedules," the official from Seoul's defense ministry said. "We could hold an NCG meeting as early as June."

The fourth and previous meeting was held in Washington in January, during which the two sides agreed to hold the next round in South Korea at an undetermined date.