South Korea and US to share nuclear plans to deter North Korean threat

WASHINGTON, April 26 (Reuters) – The United States pledged on Wednesday to give South Korea more information on its nuclear planning in the event of a conflict with North Korea amid anxiety over Pyongyang’s growing arsenal of missiles and bombs.

The announcement, which included a renewed pledge by Seoul not to seek a nuclear bomb of its own, stemmed from White House talks between US President Joe Biden and South Korean leader Yoon Suk Yeol that covered topics including North Korea, chips semiconductors and trade, and the Ukrainian war.

At a joint press conference, Yoon said that he and Biden had agreed to measures to strengthen South Korea’s defenses in response to the threat posed by North Korea.

“Our two countries agreed to immediate bilateral presidential consultations in the event of a North Korean nuclear attack and vowed to respond quickly, overwhelmingly and decisively using the full force of the alliance, including US nuclear weapons,” Yoon said.

Biden reiterated the US offer to North Korea to hold talks on its nuclear and missile programs, which has been ignored by North Korean leader Kim Jong Un.

North Korea’s mission to the United Nations did not respond to a request for comment.

NORTH KOREA DETERRANCE

North Korea’s rapidly advancing weapons programs, including ballistic missiles that can reach American cities, have raised questions about whether Washington would actually use its nuclear weapons to defend South Korea under what it calls “extended deterrence.”

Opinion polls in South Korea show a majority want Seoul to buy its own nuclear bombs, a move Washington opposes.

Under a new “Washington Declaration,” the US will give Seoul detailed information and a voice in US contingency planning to deter and respond to any nuclear incidents in the region through a Nuclear Advisory Group. US-Republic of Korea, US officials said.

Washington will also deploy a ballistic missile submarine to South Korea in a show of force, the first such visit since the 1980s, US officials said.

But Biden made it clear that US nuclear weapons would not be placed on South Korean soil.

“I have absolute authority as commander in chief and sole authority to use a nuclear weapon, but… what the statement means is that we will do our best to consult with our allies when appropriate, if any action is so called.” stop,” he said.

A “WIN” FOR SOUTH KOREA?

The agreed steps do not meet what some in South Korea have called for and are “unlikely to persuade North Korea to abandon its current course of developing and testing weapons of mass destruction or to calm debate within South Korea.” about their own nuclear future,” said Jenny Town. of the Washington-based North Korean watchdog group 38 North.

Sue Mi Terry of the Wilson Center think tank called the move largely rhetorical and “a fig leaf” to deter South Korea from going nuclear.

“That’s what this is about,” he said. “But it remains to be seen whether Korean public opinion will be satisfied.”

Terry said that any resumption of nuclear bomb tests by North Korea for the first time since 2017 would raise alarm in South Korea and call for its own nuclear arsenal, or the redeployment of US tactical nuclear weapons in the country. .

Still, increasing Seoul’s involvement in the nuclear deliberations should allow Yoon to make the case to his domestic audience that Washington is taking Seoul’s concerns seriously.

Duyeon Kim, an analyst at the Center for a New American Security, called the Washington Declaration “a great victory for the alliance and especially for South Korea.”

She said that one of the most notable developments was that the two sides were playing out scenarios that included a US nuclear response, whereas in the past this had been considered too classified to share.

US officials stressed that US nuclear weapons would not be returned to the peninsula and that South Korea would continue to have no control over the US nuclear arsenal.

Yoon’s is only the second state visit Biden has hosted since taking office two years ago; the first of those guests was the president of France.

On Wednesday night, the leaders attended a brilliant dinner hosted by a chef whose mother immigrated from Korea.

The guests sat at tables with cherry blossom branches and feasted on crab cakes and braised short ribs. Hollywood star Angelina Jolie attended.

The summit also produced agreements on cyber security, electric vehicles and batteries, quantum technology, foreign assistance and economic investment.

Biden and Yoon also discussed Sino-Taiwan tensions and Chinese military activities in the South China Sea.

In a joint statement, the two presidents stressed the importance of preserving stability in the Taiwan Strait.

They also strongly opposed “any unilateral attempt to change the status quo in the Indo-Pacific, including through illegal maritime claims, militarization of reclaimed features and coercive activities,” it said.

The United States planned to inform China about the steps with Seoul, US officials said, signaling a desire to ease tense relations.

Reporting by Trevor Hunnicutt, Steve Holland, and David Brunnstrom; Edited by Scott Malone and Michael Perry

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