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US President Joe Biden shakes hands with South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol during their summit in Washington, DC, on July 11, 2024, on the sidelines of the NATO summit. (Yonhap)

The US reportedly revised its guidelines for using nuclear weapons, a classified document officially called “Nuclear Employment Guidance,” back in March. The updated guidelines are reportedly aimed at countering China’s nuclear capabilities and responding to the nuclear threat posed to the US by cooperation between North Korea, China and Russia.

South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol asserts that the US has reinforced its pledge of extended deterrence (also called the nuclear umbrella) through nuclear deliberations with South Korea following the Washington Declaration in April 2023. But we’re doubtful about whether Korea was kept in the loop about this important shift in US’ nuclear policy.

The Korean government needs to candidly inform the public whether it’s actually staying in close communication with the US about nuclear matters as it has confidently claimed.

The New York Times reported Tuesday that US President Joe Biden had signed off on the revised nuclear strategy, in March to “focus on China’s rapid expansion in its nuclear arsenal” and to prepare for possible “coordinated nuclear challenges” from North Korea, China, and Russia. The guidance is updated every four years or so. 
 
In comparison to the 300 or so nuclear warheads it possessed in 2020, China had 500 nuclear warheads as of June of this year. The US Department of Defense estimates that this number will jump to 1,000 by the late 2020s and to 1,500 by 2035.
 
The phrase “coordinated nuclear challenges” from North Korea, China and Russia is noteworthy. Staying true to that phrase, China and Russia have conducted annual joint drills with nuclear-capable strategic bombers in the East Sea since 2019, while North Korea has been supporting Russia’s war against Ukraine by providing weapons. The swiftly shifting circumstances appear to have opened Washington’s eyes to the necessity to prepare against “coordinated challenges” from the three countries, rather than focus on the individual danger that each country presents.
 
Back home, the Yoon administration has declared that it has made tremendous progress in advancing the nation’s security with the Nuclear Consultative Group, which was established through the Washington Declaration and the signing of the joint Korea-US “Guidelines for Nuclear Deterrence and Nuclear Operations on the Korean Peninsula” in July. With that in mind, high-level dialogue between South Korea and the US should have been made regarding the revisions to the US nuclear strategy.
 
However, as we can infer from how Foreign Minister Cho Tae-yul remarked that Seoul “must be wary about responding to such threats in kind” while hypothesizing about a nuclear attack by Pyongyang before the National Assembly on Aug. 13, it seems that we will not be able to get a word in edgewise when the US makes significant decisions on the use of nuclear weapons.
 
If changes made to important issues such as nuclear employment or nuclear operations guidelines are to be made unilaterally by the US, what has the government been promising the public all this time?

Please direct questions or comments to [english@hani.co.kr]