Washington and Seoul to agree to an expanded pact

WASHINGTON - South Korea and the United States have agreed to declare an “extended deterrence” - a wider defensive mechanism than only a nuclear umbrella - at the June 16 summit in Washington.

The move is a bid to tackle the recent series of North Korean military threats, said South Korean Foreign Minister Yu Myung-hwan.

“We have decided to consider the North’s nuclear test and missile launches as a challenge pertaining to the South Korea-U.S. alliance and to address the issue cooperatively,” said Yu in a briefing with South Korean press correspondents after meeting with U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton on Friday. “The extended deterrence is a comprehensive notion that not only includes a nuclear umbrella but also military deterrence through conventional forces. No previous South Korea-U.S. summit has declared it.”

Although Seoul and Washington agreed on the plan three years ago, it has neither been committed to writing nor officially declared by the nations’ respective presidents. New discussions between the two countries came after North Korea conducted its second nuclear test on May 25.

The extended deterrence refers to the U.S. retaliating against hostilities by an adversary by every possible military means. Measures range from providing a nuclear umbrella to conventional military forces such as land and sea-based missiles and strategic bombers.

Though the U.S. has kept a nuclear umbrella over the South under the South Korea-U.S. Mutual Defense Treaty forged after the Korean War ended in 1953, there has been no written pledge. The nuclear umbrella evolved into “extended deterrence” in 2006 after North Korea announced it possessed nuclear weapons and eight months later conducted its first nuclear test.

Yu and Clinton also agreed to coordinate diplomatic efforts to expedite the UN Secretary Council’s approval of sanctions against the North by the end of this week in response to its recent nuclear and missile tests. According to Clinton, the United States is weighing a variety of sanctions on North Korea as diplomats craft a UN resolution against Pyongyang.

The two ministers also shared the view that imposing financial sanctions on the North will be effective in preventing the country from developing nuclear weapons and missiles. U.S. State Department spokesman P.J. Crowley told reporters Friday that U.S. action “within the banking sector certainly did get North Korea’s attention previously, and if we can find ways that we can do that, we will do so.”

Below are excerpts from the press briefing with Yu.

Q: Why has the UN resolution been delayed?

Yu: “Although the ultimate goal of denuclearizing North Korea remains unchanged, the United States seems to think that more detailed measures are necessary to have the entire world adopt a non-proliferation agenda after the North conducted its second nuclear test. The sanctions aim to place more detailed and effective regulations on the inspection of third countries’ vessels and aircraft frequenting North Korea.”

Q: Are recent U.S. media reports on North Korea’s circulation of counterfeit notes based on detailed evidence?

Yu: “I understand new evidence has emerged recently.”

Q: What is the probability of former U.S. Vice President Al Gore visiting Pyongyang to negotiate the release of two American female journalists?

Yu: It seems that the U.S. government is discussing whether to tackle the issue directly or have the private sector deal with it. If similar precedents of American figures paying cash to North Korea in exchange for release of U.S. citizens in custody are taken into account, we could imagine Gore visiting North Korea. I personally expect he will limit negotiations to the humanitarian agenda of the journalists’ release, rather than take advantage of the chance for political talks with the North.

Q: Although China has been publicly denouncing the North’s action, some point out that the country is showing a different stance when it comes to the UN resolution.

Yu: China’s agreement on the UN Security Council’s North Korean sanctions ... marks an important change of its position. I would say the country is being highly prudent.

By Kim Jung-wook, Seo Ji-eun [spring@joongang.co.kr]