Yoon says S. Korea-U.S. alliance elevated to ‘nuclear-based’ one

President Yoon Suk Yeol said Tuesday that South Korea's alliance with the United States has been elevated to a "nuclear-based" one capable of deterring the North's nuclear threats following their signing of joint nuclear deterrence guidelines. Last week, Yoon and U.S. President Joe Biden adopted the "Nuclear Deterrence and Nuclear Operations on the Korean Peninsula" on the sidelines of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization summit in Washington. "The U.S. will assign a special mission to its nuclear assets for the Korean Peninsula both in wartime and peacetime," Yoon said during a Cabinet meeting. "We have established a posture to respond swiftly and effectively to any kind of North Korean nuclear threat." The signing of the guidelines was a culmination of the bilateral Nuclear Consultative Group's efforts to ensure the credibility of America's "extended deterrence" commitment to South Korea in an integrated way that includes South Korea's conventional support for U.S. nuclear operations in a contingency. Extended deterrence refers to a U.S. pledge to mobilize the full range of its military capabilities, including nuclear arms, to defend its ally. Source: Yonhap News Agency