The United States reaffirmed its commitment to providing extended deterrence to South Korea, pledging to employ the full range of its military capabilities — including its nuclear forces — Seoul's Defense Ministry said Friday.
The ministry said the allies held the fifth meeting of the Nuclear Consultative Group, their standing consultative body on nuclear deterrence, Thursday in Washington.
The meeting was attended by Kim Hong-cheol, deputy minister for national defense policy, and Robert Soofer, acting deputy assistant secretary of defense for nuclear deterrence, chemical and biological policy. The South Korean delegation also included senior officials from the Defense and Foreign ministries, as well as military and intelligence authorities, the ministry said.
According to a joint statement released after the meeting, Soofer reiterated Washington’s pledge to extend deterrence to South Korea by leveraging the full spectrum of US military capabilities, including its "nuclear forces."
Kim, for his part, underscored that South Korea will continue to play a leading role in maintaining and strengthening its "conventional" defense capabilities.
The two sides agreed that enhanced nuclear deterrence education and tabletop exercises integrating conventional and nuclear scenarios are helping improve the allies’ decision-making coordination in potential nuclear contingencies.
The meeting marked the first NCG session since US President Donald Trump and Korean President Lee Jae Myung took office. The previous meeting was held on Jan. 10.
The allies recently reached an agreement allowing South Korea to pursue a nuclear-powered submarine program using US-supplied nuclear fuel, which has raised concerns that Seoul could be seen as moving toward nuclear armament.
The latest meeting was originally scheduled for October but was postponed due to the US government shutdown.
The Nuclear Consultative Group was launched in July 2023 following the Washington Declaration issued by then US President Joe Biden and former South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol. At the time, the two sides reaffirmed their commitment to nuclear nonproliferation and the peaceful use of nuclear energy.
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