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President Yoon Suk-yeol of South Korea speaks at a joint press conference with US President Joe Biden on April 26 (local time) in the White House Rose Garden. (Yonhap)

Following their summit in the US capital on Wednesday, South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol and US President Joe Biden adopted the Washington Declaration, which includes plans for stronger joint extended deterrence against North Korean nuclear and missile threats.

The two leaders also agreed on the establishment of a new Nuclear Consultative Group to oversee the information sharing and joint planning and execution for extended deterrence.

In a joint post-summit press conference with Biden at the White House Rose Garden, Yoon said the two had “decided to significantly strengthen extended deterrence of our two countries against North Korea’s nuclear and missile threats so that we can achieve peace through the superiority of overwhelming forces and not a false peace based on the goodwill of the other side.”

“Such a will and commitment is captured in the Washington Declaration,” he continued

The Washington Declaration is a separate document from the joint statement, marking the first time a separate document on extended deterrence was adopted by the leaders of the two countries.

“Our two countries have agreed to immediate bilateral presidential consultations in the event of North Korea’s nuclear attack and promised to respond swiftly, overwhelmingly, and decisively using the full force of the alliance including the United States’ nuclear weapons,” Yoon told reporters at the press conference. Regarding the NCG, Yoon said the goal was to “customize our response against North Korea’s nuclear threat based on extended deterrence.”

“Now our two countries will share information on nuclear and strategic weapon operations plans in response to North Korea’s provocations and have regular consultations on ways to plan and execute joint operations that combine Korea’s state-of-the-art conventional forces with the US’ nuclear capabilities, the results of which will be reported to the leaders of our two countries on a regular basis,” Yoon continued.

Biden also made remarks about the security situation on the peninsula, saying that a nuclear attack by North Korea against the US or its partners would be “unacceptable” and “will result in the end of whatever regime” were to take such an action.

The two leaders also agreed to further advance tabletop exercises in preparation for a potential nuclear crisis and “constantly and routinely” deploy US strategic assets to the Korean Peninsula.

Regarding the NCG, Biden said that although he has the sole authority to authorize the use of nuclear weapons as commander-in-chief, the US will “make every effort to consult with our allies when it’s appropriate if any actions are so called for.” Biden also made clear that the US will not be stationing nuclear weapons on the Korean Peninsula but would continue with port visits of nuclear submarines.

In addition, the two leaders agreed to begin discussions about expanding the alliance into cyber and space by applying their mutual defense pact to these fields. To this end, Yoon and Biden announced the establishment of “a dialogue for next-generation emerging and core technology between the U.S. National Security Council and the Korea Office of National Security” and the adoption of the “Strategic Cybersecurity Cooperation Framework.”

Besides this, the two leaders also adopted a separate joint statement on the identification of an American soldier killed in the Korean War.

Regarding economic issues, both the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) and the CHIPS and Science Act were on the agenda at the summit, given domestic concerns regarding the laws harming South Korean companies.

Despite the importance of the issue, however, the joint statement merely glossed over the topic, simply stating that the two leaders “committed to continue close consultations with a view to ensuring those Acts encourage mutually beneficial corporate investment in the United States by creating predictable conditions for business activities.”

The two leaders also reaffirmed their continued support for Ukraine.

“Both countries have responded resolutely to Russia’s clear violations of international law by promoting accountability through sanctions and export control measures, and we are continuing to support Ukraine through the vital provision of political, security, humanitarian, and economic assistance, including to increase power generation and transmission and rebuild critical infrastructure,” the statement read.

Although the provision of lethal aid was not directly mentioned, the possibility was not ruled out either.

The joint statement also voiced support for the improvement of South Korea-Japan relations.

“President Biden welcomed President Yoon’s bold steps toward improving ROK-Japan relations and extended strong support for expanding ROK-Japan collaboration, which opens the door to deeper trilateral cooperation on regional and economic security,” the statement read.

By Kim Mi-na, staff reporter; Lee Bon-young, Washington correspondent

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