S Korea, US complete review of joint guidelines to strengthen nuclear deterrence

Korea's deputy defense minister for policy Cho Chang-rae speaks during a press briefing at the Ministry of National Defense, Yongsan district, June 4. Yonhap

South Korea and the United States on Monday completed a review of a joint guideline document to strengthen the alliance's nuclear deterrence policy, a joint statement said, as they held key deterrence talks on countering growing North Korean threats.

Cho Chang-rae, deputy defense minister for policy, and Vipin Narang, principal U.S. deputy assistant secretary of defense for space policy, led the third meeting of the bilateral Nuclear Consultative Group (NCG) in Seoul.

"The two sides agreed that the joint guidelines will provide a solid foundation to strengthen cooperation for the unitary South Korea-U.S. extended deterrence (system)," the statement released by the defense ministry said.

The NCG was established under the Washington Declaration that President Yoon Suk Yeol and U.S. President Joe Biden adopted during their summit in Washington in April last year as part of efforts to enhance the credibility of extended deterrence.

Extended deterrence refers to the U.S. commitment to using the full range of its military capabilities, including nuclear weapons, to defend an ally.

The first two meetings were led by the National Security Councils of the two countries, before the allies agreed for the body to be led by the defense ministry and the Pentagon.

The latest meeting took place after Pyongyang's continued provocative acts in recent weeks, such as the launches of trash-carrying balloons across the border and attempts to disrupt GPS signals around the South's northwestern border islands.

In response, Seoul fully suspended a 2018 inter-Korean tension reduction pact last week, and broadcast anti-Pyongyang propaganda through front-line loudspeakers on Sunday for the first time in six years.(Yonhap)