South Korea-U.S. alliance elevated to 'nuclear-based' one capable of deterring North: Yoon

President Yoon Suk Yeol said Tuesday in a Cabinet meeting that the South Korea-U.S alliance has been elevated to a “nuclear-based” one capable of deterring North Korea’s nuclear threats.

President Yoon Suk Yeol speaks during a Cabinet meeting held at the presidential office in Yongsan District, central Seoul, on Tuesday. [PRESIDENTIAL OFFICE]

President Yoon Suk Yeol said Tuesday in a Cabinet meeting that the South Korea-U.S alliance has been elevated to a “nuclear-based” one capable of deterring North Korea’s nuclear threats.

Yoon made the statement at the Yongsan presidential office Tuesday, noting that he and U.S. President Joe Biden announced a joint statement on the new “Guidelines for Nuclear Deterrence and Nuclear Operations on the Korean Peninsula” on the sidelines of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) summit last week.

“Regardless of wartime or peacetime, U.S. nuclear assets will be specially assigned to missions on the Korean Peninsula,” Yoon said during the Cabinet meeting. “Now we have established a posture that allows us to respond quickly and effectively to any North Korean nuclear threat.”

Yoon also introduced the results of bilateral meetings he held with the leaders of 12 countries and the Secretary General of NATO during his trip to Washington for the NATO summit.

“I congratulated and welcomed Germany’s decision to become a member of the UN Command with the German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, and with NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg, we decided to systemize information sharing about North Korean weapons used on the battlefield in Ukraine,” said Yoon.

“We signed an airworthiness certificate in which NATO officially recognized the flight safety of domestically produced aircraft,” Yoon continued. “We expect this will further accelerate defense industry cooperation between South Korea and NATO in the aviation field.

“We also agreed with the Dutch Prime Minister Dick Schoof to substantively implement the South Korea-Netherlands semiconductor alliance signed during his state visit last year,” said Yoon. “With the Czech Republic, Sweden, Finland, Poland, Norway, Luxembourg and Canada, we discussed our participation in infrastructure and defense capability enhancement projects, including nuclear power and high-speed rails.”

Yoon further said that South Korea has agreed to cooperate closely with major countries, including the United States and Japan, to address regional security issues, such as the close military ties between North Korea and Russia.

Meanwhile, the South Korean government is organizing a simulation exercise to share information on nuclear operations on the Korean Peninsula with the United States as part of efforts to implement the “Guidelines for Nuclear Operations for Nuclear Deterrence on the Korean Peninsula.” signed between the Korean Defense Ministry and the Pentagon.

The National Security Office said on Tuesday that it held a meeting of relevant ministries in the security field, chaired by National Security Advisor Chang Ho-jin, to discuss follow-up plans after Yoon’s NATO trip.

The participants at the meeting decided first to promote information sharing, consultation, joint planning and implementation related to nuclear operations on the Korean Peninsula by sector to implement the nuclear deterrence guidelines effectively.

It was also decided at the meeting that South Korea would conduct necessary exercises through the annual government-wide simulation and national defense and military training with the United States.

Attendees also agreed to respond firmly to illegal military and economic cooperation between North Korea and Russia based on the joint statement on the new guidelines from the NATO summit and the joint statement of the Indo-Pacific Partner Four (IP4) countries — South Korea, Japan, Australia, New Zealand — while continuing related dialogue with Russia and taking corresponding response measures.

The National Security Office also reported that the government plans to quickly implement cooperation measures in the nuclear power, energy, and defense industries agreed upon at the NATO summit. It also discussed detailed implementation plans for the North Korean Defectors Day event.

The meeting was attended by Chang, First Vice Foreign Minister Kim Hong-kyun, Vice Unification Minister Moon Seung-hyun, Vice Defense Minister Kim Seon-ho, National Intelligence Service Second Deputy Director Hwang Won-jin, National Security Office First Deputy Director Kim Tae-hyo, and National Security Office Second Deputy Direct Yin Sung-hwan.

BY LIM JEONG-WON [lim.jeongwon@joongang.co.kr]