Caught Two Rabbits: South Korea and the U.S. [Yang Nakgyu's Defence Club]

Joint Statement on ROK-US Korea Peninsula Nuclear Deterrence and Nuclear Operations Guidelines
Enhancing Trust in the Nuclear Umbrella and Quelling Nuclear Armament Controversies

The Republic of Korea and the United States are being evaluated as having achieved two goals with the ‘Joint Statement on the ROK-U.S. Combined Nuclear Deterrence and Nuclear Operations Guidelines for the Korean Peninsula.’ Domestically, this means enhancing the credibility of the U.S. ‘nuclear umbrella’ and quelling controversies over the deployment of nuclear weapons on the Korean Peninsula.

[Image source=Yonhap News]

The joint statement signed by President Yoon Suk-yeol and U.S. President Joe Biden centers on an ‘integrated extended deterrence system.’ This system aims not only to respond in the event of an actual nuclear attack but also to monitor North Korea’s movements regularly to verify whether there is a genuine intent to launch a nuclear strike. To achieve this, U.S. nuclear forces such as nuclear submarines, intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBMs), and strategic bombers will be activated.

Until now, domestic concerns have focused on the upcoming U.S. presidential election in October. There were claims that if a second Trump administration were to take office, cracks would form in the ROK-U.S. alliance, ultimately forcing South Korea to pursue independent nuclear armament. The ruling party in South Korea also fueled these concerns. The U.S.’s America First stance in economic matters had undermined trust in the ROK-U.S. alliance, which acted as a spark.

Some have recently argued for ‘NATO-style nuclear sharing’ as the U.S. has frequently mentioned strengthening extended deterrence toward South Korea. This means enhancing ‘extended deterrence on the Korean Peninsula’ to a level similar to what the U.S. provides to its North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) member countries in Europe, in response to North Korea’s increasingly sophisticated and overt nuclear threats.

The characteristic of ‘NATO-style nuclear sharing’ is that operational planning and decision-making are handled by the U.S., while allied countries provide nuclear weapon deployment facilities and take on some delivery missions. Currently, the U.S. deploys and operates tactical nuclear weapons in five NATO member countries (Germany, Belgium, the Netherlands, Italy, and T?rkiye). NATO’s nuclear joint planning is conducted by the Nuclear Planning Group (NPG), which oversees ‘nuclear policy planning’ and operates regular consultative bodies, handling roles such as nuclear weapon safety and security, and nuclear weapon control.

However, the recent ROK-U.S. summit drew a line against ‘NATO-style nuclear sharing.’ Even if extended deterrence toward South Korea is strengthened, the direction has shifted toward expanding or elevating South Korea’s involvement. In particular, the tailored deterrence strategy (TDS) was advanced. The ‘tailored deterrence strategy’ refers to an official response by the ROK-U.S. alliance to North Korea’s nuclear and weapons of mass destruction (WMD) threats.

A government official stated, "The efficiency of U.S. extended deterrence depends on the characteristics of the region, and after the announcement of the strengthened extended deterrence measures toward South Korea, the credibility felt by the Korean people will be the most important variable."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.