South Korea and the US will hold talks in Seoul on Monday to better coordinate the allies’ nuclear response in the event of war with North Korea amid concerns over Pyongyang’s growing arsenal, South Korean media reported.
The third meeting of the Nuclear Consultative Group (NCG) on Monday is meant to be a follow-up to last year’s summit, at which the US promised to provide South Korea with more information on nuclear planning in case of a conflict with the North.
The talks came at a time when North Korea is pushing hard for its nuclear weapons and delivery systems, raising questions in South Korea about its reliance on “extended deterrence” – essentially a US nuclear umbrella.
Some politicians, including senior members of President Yoon Suk Yeol’s party, have called on Seoul to develop its own nuclear weapons, which Washington opposes.
Prerequisites of conflict
In late May, North Korea’s attempt to launch a military reconnaissance satellite failed after a newly developed rocket engine exploded in flight. Seoul and Washington condemned the launch as a violation of UN Security Council sanctions banning Pyongyang from using ballistic technology.
After a second meeting in December, both sides warned that any North Korean nuclear attack on the US or its allies would meet with a swift, overwhelming and decisive response and lead to the fall of Kim Jong Un’s regime.
Earlier, the DPRK broke the 2018 treaty between the two Koreas on border demilitarisation. Thus, the DPRK mined the border and demolished all the railways connecting the south with the north.
Last week, South Korean Defence Minister Shin Won-sik and US Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin met on the sidelines of the annual Shangri-La Dialogue security conference in Singapore, during which they reaffirmed the goal of North Korea’s complete denuclearisation and continued efforts to strengthen the US extended deterrence.
