South Korea and the United States have finalized the ‘Joint Guidelines,’ which comprise a response framework integrating South Korea’s conventional weapons and the United States’ nuclear weapons in the event of a North Korean nuclear attack. For the first time in more than 70 years, since the Mutual Defense Treaty Between the U.S. and the Republic of Korea was signed in 1953, this establishes a foundation for the joint implementation of extended deterrence, including the nuclear umbrella. During the ROK-U.S. combined exercise “Ulchi Freedom Shield (UFS)” in August this year, the two nations intend to execute a nuclear operation scenario training for the first time, assuming North Korea’s use of nuclear weapons. This will be perceived as a severe warning to North Korea, which has been increasing its levels of provocation in various ways in recent months.
On June 10, the two countries issued a joint press statement following the third Nuclear Consultative Group (NCG) meeting at the Ministry of National Defense in Yongsan, Seoul. The statement said, “The NCG has completed the review of the ‘Joint Guidelines,’ which provide the principles and procedures for maintaining and strengthening the alliance’s credible and effective nuclear deterrence policy and posture.” The Joint Guidelines will be finalized through a signing procedure by both countries.
Although the document does not disclose its specifics, which include military secrets, it is purported to contain comprehensive guidelines on how to preemptively prevent a North Korean nuclear strike and respond if such an attack occurs.
The NCG, established through President Yoon Suk-yeol’s ‘Washington Declaration’ last year, is further institutionalized by formalizing these guidelines. Since the beginning of his administration, President Yoon has prioritized the integration of nuclear war scenarios into ROK-U.S. combined exercises. However, this aspect was omitted from last year’s training session, leading to his reprimanding the security line. The objective of formally documenting both countries’ roles in response to the North Korean nuclear threat is to reduce the influence of political variables, such as regime changes, on the ROK-U.S. security domain.
Meanwhile, this announcement is made in the context of North Korea’s ongoing provocations, including the release of trash balloons toward South Korea, satellite launches, GPS jamming assaults, and ballistic missile launches since last month. Procedures and integration plans for the Conventional-Nuclear Integration (CNI) to retaliate against North Korea in the event of a preemptive nuclear strike are reportedly included in the Joint Guidelines. While the primary objective is to prevent North Korea from employing nuclear weapons, they also discussed the appropriate military response to North Korea in the event of a ‘deterrence failure,’ in which North Korea initiates a nuclear attack.
The U.S. representative, Vipin Narang, Acting Assistant Secretary of Defense for Space Policy, stated, “The documented Joint Guidelines will establish the architecture that the NCG will employ continuously in the future. It will facilitate the integration of South Korea’s conventional capabilities and U.S. nuclear capabilities, and it will be reflected in future operations and exercise training.” Cho Chang-rae, the Deputy Minister of National Defense of South Korea, declared, “We have reached an agreement to conduct government-wide simulations and annual ROK-U.S. defense and military authorities’ tabletop exercises, as well as to establish consultation procedures in the event of a North Korean nuclear crisis.” The two nations will conduct nuclear operation scenario training during the Ulchi Freedom Shield (UFS) exercise in August this year, assuming North Korea’s use of nuclear weapons, as agreed upon during the second NCG meeting last December. Until now, the two nations had only conducted training in anticipation of North Korea’s potential use of nuclear weapons but had not conducted training based on the actual use of nuclear weapons.
