Time to devise a true nuclear deterrence

The first Nuclear Consultative Group (NCG) meeting between South Korea and the United States was held in the presidential office in Seoul on Tuesday to discuss effective ways to strengthen mutual cooperation on the U.S. extended deterrence against North Korean nuclear attacks. The NCG started to work following the Washington Declaration between President Yoon Suk Yeol and U.S. President Joe Biden in April on the occasion of the 70th anniversary of the alliance.

Given the significance of the first meeting, President Yoon visited the conference room to encourage representatives of the two countries shortly before hosting the weekly Cabinet meeting every Tuesday. In that visit, Yoon underscored the need for both sides to sternly deal with the North’s growing nuclear threats by reinforcing the nuclear deterrence.

In a briefing later, Kim Tae-hyo, the first deputy director of the National Security Office, said that both allies will move toward establishing an extended deterrence system in which both sides can consult, decide and take action through the NCG. They agreed to a joint planning and execution of U.S. support for the South’s conventional forces when it launches a nuclear operation.

Kurt Campbell, coordinator for Indo-Pacific Affairs in the National Security Council, said the U.S. will devise all measures to use the deterrence fully. In a rare move, he disclosed that a nuclear-powered submarine carrying nuclear missiles is making a call at Busan Harbor. Such a public disclosure came for the first time since 1981.

On July 12, less than a week before the first NCG meeting in Seoul, North Korea fired off a Hawsong-18 ICBM propelled by solid fuel. A day before the meeting, Kim Yo-jong, the powerful sister of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, warned that the stronger the U.S. builds its extended deterrence and military alliance with South Korea, the farther it will make North Korea turn away from the negotiating table.

Security experts stress the need to thoroughly prepare for the North’s nuclear and missile provocations. As the extended deterrence is focused on the deployment of U.S. strategic assets to South Korea at times of crisis, the South is not well prepared for the North’s provocations with short-range tactical nukes, including KN-23.

More than 70 percent of South Koreans still want to develop nuclear weapons on their own. That shows a lack of their trust in the U.S. nuclear umbrella. The two allies must present additional — and substantial — countermeasures before it’s too late.