By Diplomacy Journal Lee Jon-young

South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol and U.S. President Joe Biden adopted a "Joint Statement on Guidelines for Nuclear Operations for Nuclear Deterrence on the Korean Peninsula" during their bilateral meeting on the sidelines of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) Summit in Washington, D.C., on Nov. 11 (local time).

"The two leaders reaffirmed that any North Korean nuclear attack on the Republic of Korea will be met with an immediate, overwhelming and decisive response," Kim Tae-hyo, deputy director of the National Security Office, said in a briefing.

"The U.S. extended deterrence commitment to South Korea is backed by the full range of U.S. capabilities, including nuclear," Biden emphasized. In response, President Yoon said, "South Korea's capabilities in all categories will contribute significantly to the joint defense posture of the ROK-US alliance."

The following is the joint statement by President Joseph R. Biden of the United States of America and President Yoon Suk-yeol of the Republic of Korea on U.S.-ROK Guidelines for Nuclear Deterrence and Nuclear Operations on the Korean Peninsula. —Ed.

President Joseph R. Biden of the United States of America (U.S.) and President Yoon Suk-yeol of the Republic of Korea (ROK) met on July 11, 2024 to reaffirm the advancements in U.S.-ROK security cooperation on extended deterrence since their announcement of the U.S.-ROK Washington Declaration in April 2023. 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 NCG was established as an enduring bilateral consultative body that has implemented the U.S.-ROK Washington Declaration, directly strengthened U.S.-ROK cooperation on extended deterrence, and managed the threat to the nonproliferation regime posed by the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK).

The NCG has facilitated joint U.S.-ROK nuclear and strategic planning with a focus on ensuring the continued safety and security of the people of the ROK, as well as the U.S. servicemembers deployed to the Korean Peninsula, in the face of the advancing nuclear threat posed by the DPRK. The NCG contributes to the efforts by the U.S-ROK Alliance to enable joint planning and execution for ROK conventional support to U.S. nuclear operations in a contingency. The NCG also facilitates continuous improvement to U.S.-ROK combined exercises and training activities, including through regularized table-top exercises and whole-of-government simulations.

President Biden and President Yoon commend and endorse the tremendous progress that the U.S.-ROK Alliance has achieved in the first year of the NCG, as evidenced by the signing of the U.S.-ROK Guidelines for Nuclear Deterrence and Nuclear Operations on the Korean Peninsula (“Guidelines document”) by the U.S. Department of Defense and the ROK Ministry of National Defense. The Presidents underscored that the Guidelines document provides a solid foundation for enhancing U.S.-ROK extended deterrence cooperation in an integrated manner.

The Guidelines document provides guidance to Alliance policy and military authorities in maintaining and strengthening a credible and effective nuclear deterrence policy and posture. The Presidents reiterated the need to continue to make swift progress on NCG workstreams, including security protocols and expansion of information sharing; nuclear consultation processes in crises and contingencies; nuclear and strategic planning; ROK conventional support to U.S. nuclear operations in a contingency through conventional-nuclear integration; strategic communications; exercises, simulations, training, and investment activities; and risk reduction practices.

The Presidents reaffirmed their commitments in the U.S.-ROK Washington Declaration and highlighted that any nuclear attack by the DPRK against the ROK will be met with a swift, overwhelming and decisive response. President Biden reiterated that the U.S. commitment to extended deterrence to the ROK is backed by the full range of U.S. capabilities, including nuclear. President Yoon reiterated that the ROK’s full range of capabilities will greatly contribute to the Alliance’s combined defense posture.