US, South Korea Sign Nuclear Guidelines Amid Increased Threat From North Korea

People watch a television screen showing a news broadcast with file footage of a North Korean missile test, at a railway station in Seoul, South Korea, on July 19, 2023. (Jung Yeon-je/AFP via Getty Images)

President Joe Biden reiterated to South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol that the U.S. commitment to deterring North Korea is backed by the full range of U.S. capabilities, including nuclear, as the two countries signed guidelines on July 11 for “maintaining an effective nuclear deterrence policy and posture” on the Korean peninsula.

The two leaders welcomed the signing of the protocols in a joint statement issued by the White House as they met on the sidelines of the annual NATO Summit in Washington.

“The progress made since the establishment of the U.S.–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 pair said.

The presidents both stressed that any nuclear attack against South Korea by North Korea would be met with “a swift, overwhelming, and decisive response.”

The agreement was signed at the Pentagon on July 11 by U.S. Acting Assistant Secretary of Defense for Space Policy Vipin Narang and South Korean Deputy Minister of National Defense Policy Cho Chang Lae, according to a Department of Defense statement.

Mr. Narang and Mr. Lae are co-chairs of the NCG, a bilateral consultative body established by Washington and Seoul in April 2023 as part of ongoing efforts to strengthen the U.S.–South Korea alliance.

The two countries finalized the guidelines during the third meeting of the NCG in Seoul, South Korea, in June. South Korea does not have any nuclear weapons and is largely dependent on the U.S. nuclear umbrella.

Washington and Seoul have repeatedly raised concerns about North Korea’s ever-developing nuclear capabilities and missile program, which pose a major security threat.

The joint nuclear deterrence guidelines were signed just weeks after the leaders of North Korea and Russia penned a comprehensive “strategic partnership” pact providing for “mutual assistance in the event of aggression against one of the parties.”

That deal was signed during Russian President Vladimir Putin’s visit to the North Korean capital of Pyongyang on June 19.

The Russian leader was joined by North Korean leader Kim Jong Un at the signing ceremony for the deal, which also provides for increased cooperation across the economic, commercial, cultural, and humanitarian sectors.

The treaty also establishes “comprehensive benchmarks for deepening Russia–Korea relations in the long term,” Mr. Putin said in a statement to reporters after signing the deal.

The North Korean leader has framed the pact as “peaceful and defensive” and said it is meant to elevate bilateral relations.

The White House alleged earlier this year that Russia is using North Korean ballistic missiles in its war against Ukraine.

Moscow and Pyongyang have consistently denied those allegations.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.