{"id":2200844,"date":"2023-04-27T19:24:03","date_gmt":"2023-04-27T10:24:03","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/koreapro.org\/?p=2200844"},"modified":"2023-04-28T16:43:49","modified_gmt":"2023-04-28T07:43:49","slug":"yoon-lauds-nuclear-progress-at-us-rok-summit-but-critics-remain-unconvinced","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/koreapro.org\/2023\/04\/yoon-lauds-nuclear-progress-at-us-rok-summit-but-critics-remain-unconvinced\/","title":{"rendered":"Yoon lauds nuclear progress at US-ROK summit, but critics remain unconvinced"},"content":{"rendered":"
Traveling to the U.S. this week for his second summit with U.S. counterpart Joe Biden, South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol aimed in part to boost his popularity with a public that increasingly wants Seoul to have more say in U.S. nuclear weapons use \u2014 or even its own bomb.<\/span><\/p>\n But following the release of the summit outcome on Wednesday, experts are divided about the efficacy of the new nuclear consultation framework that the two leaders agreed to and whether it will satisfy South Koreans who have called for an indigenous nuclear weapons program.<\/span><\/p>\n Yoon portrayed the <\/span>Washington Declaration<\/span><\/a> as a win during a joint press conference after the summit, <\/span>framing<\/span><\/a> the agreement to establish a new Nuclear Consultative Group (NCG) for joint planning and execution of U.S. nuclear assets against North Korean threats as an \u201cunprecedented\u201d step toward giving Seoul more say on the U.S. nuclear umbrella.<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cOur two countries have agreed to immediate bilateral presidential consultations in the event of North Korea\u2019s nuclear attack and promised to respond swiftly, overwhelmingly and decisively using the full force of the alliance including the United States\u2019 nuclear weapons,\u201d Yoon said.<\/span><\/p>\n He stressed repeatedly that nuclear asset planning and execution would be done \u201cjointly\u201d between Seoul and Washington, while Biden emphasized that the decision to use nuclear weapons is his \u201csole authority.\u201d South Korea also pledged to uphold the principles of non-proliferation \u2014 in essence promising not to pursue an independent nuclear weapons program.<\/span><\/p>\n Despite Yoon\u2019s insistence that the two countries\u2019 response to a North Korean nuclear attack would include overwhelming U.S. nuclear capabilities, the actual wording of the <\/span>Washington Declaration<\/span><\/a> is more ambiguous.<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cThe United States commits to make every effort to consult with the ROK on any possible nuclear weapons employment on the Korean Peninsula,\u201d the declaration states, referring to the <\/span>Declaratory Policy in the U.S. Nuclear Posture Review<\/span><\/a> that lays out the conditions for America\u2019s nuclear use.<\/span><\/p>\n In other words, while Washington acknowledges the importance of broadening consultation channels with Seoul, the U.S. cannot and will not be compelled to use nuclear weapons.<\/span><\/p>\n