The US and South Korea want to increase their deterrence against a nuclear threat from North Korea. US President Joe Biden and his South Korean counterpart Yoon Suk Yeol wanted to sign a joint declaration in Washington that, among other things, provides for increased military cooperation between the two countries, as high-ranking US government officials announced in advance.
This includes the more visible stationing of strategic US equipment. Among other things, an American nuclear submarine should dock in South Korea again, for the first time since the early 1980s. Military training and simulations should also be intensified. It is about “occasional, very clear demonstrations of strength” against Pyongyang.
South Korea should also gain more insight into the US government’s strategic planning for threats, including nuclear ones, the senior officials said. This is modeled on what the US would have done with close European partners at the height of the Cold War, during similar times of external threats. In the joint declaration, South Korea also acknowledged its status as a non-nuclear power. Both sides had discussed and prepared the declaration for months.
Conflict with Pyongyang continues
North Korea is subject to tough international sanctions because of its nuclear weapons and missile program. The conflict with Pyongyang has recently become much more explosive. After an unprecedented series of missile launches last year, North Korea has again tested nuclear-capable missiles several times this year. The USA and South Korea therefore resumed their joint military exercises in full.
Yoon is currently on a state visit to the United States. Biden wanted to receive him at the White House on Wednesday. In addition to bilateral talks and a joint press conference, a state banquet in honor of Yoon and his wife Kim Keon Hee was also planned for the evening. Yoon is only the second foreign guest in Biden’s tenure to be invited on a formal state visit. Along with Japan, South Korea is one of the most important US allies in Asia.
