Nearly three months since U.S. President Joe Biden and South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol announced the historic Washington Declaration, tangible elements of the agreement are beginning to manifest. However, whether these efforts can quell the calls for independent South Korean nuclear capability is unclear.

On Tuesday, the U.S. and South Korea conducted the inaugural meeting of the Nuclear Consultative Group (NCG). Coinciding with the meeting, an Ohio-class U.S. ballistic missile submarine (SSBN) made its way into the port of Busan, South Korea, marking the first visit by such a submarine since 1981.

In addition, the submarine’s arrival represents the