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U.S. and South Korea Sign Joint Nuclear Deterrence Guidelines
Context: The U.S. and South Korea signed new joint nuclear deterrence guidelines, weeks after North Korea and Russia struck a defence pact that raised concerns in the region about the North’s growing nuclear threats.
About the Guideline:
- Any nuclear attack by North Korea against South Korea will be met with “a swift, overwhelming and decisive response”.
- The agreement calls for integrating U.S. nuclear assets and South Korean conventional weapons to better respond to North Korean nuclear threats.
- The guideline formalises the deployment of U.S. nuclear assets on and around the Korean peninsula to deter and respond to potential nuclear attacks by the North.
- South Korea has no nuclear weapons.
- Two countries will conduct joint military exercises to help implement the deterrence guidelines.
US Policy on North Korea Nuclear Programme:
- The United Nations and the United States ratcheted up sanctions when North Korea conducted nuclear and ballistic missile tests in 2017.
- Washington has demanded complete, verifiable and irreversible denuclearisation before sanctions can be lifted, a position Pyongyang has denounced as “gangster-like.
North – Korea’s View:
- Accused its rivals of using the consultation group to plot a nuclear attack on the North.
- Last year, the U.S. and South Korea launched the bilateral consultation body to enhance information-sharing on nuclear and strategic operations.
Need for joint nuclear deterrence guidelines:
- North Korea’s developing nuclear arsenal is a major security threat to South Korea, which has no nuclear weapons and largely relies on the U.S. “nuclear umbrella”.
- North Korean weapons tests show the country is getting closer to acquiring long-range nuclear missiles capable of reaching the U.S. mainland.
- Analysts believe North Korea has 20 to 60 nuclear warheads.
- North Korea and Russia in June signed a deal requiring each country to provide aid to the other if it is attacked, and vowed to boost other cooperation.
- Accord represents the strongest connection between the two countries since the end of the Cold War.