Yoon says 1st NCG session will be important starting point for strong extended deterrence

▲ President Yoon Suk Yeol speaks during a Cabinet meeting at the presidential office in Seoul on July 18, 2023. (Pool photo) (Yonhap)

Yoon-nuclear group

Yoon says 1st NCG session will be important starting point for strong extended deterrence

By Lee Haye-ah

SEOUL, July 18 (Yonhap) -- President Yoon Suk Yeol said Tuesday that the first meeting of a South Korea-U.S. nuclear consultation body is expected to be an important starting point for building strong and effective extended deterrence.

Yoon made the remark during a Cabinet meeting shortly after the inaugural session of the Nuclear Consultative Group (NCG) got under way in Seoul to discuss ways to strengthen the U.S. extended deterrence commitment to defending South Korea with all of its military capabilities, including nuclear weapons.

"The first NCG meeting will be an important starting point for building strong and effective South Korea-U.S. extended deterrence," he said at the presidential office.

"It will carry out actual efforts to block North Korea's nuclear and missile threat at its source through a South Korea-U.S. alliance upgraded to a new nuclear-based paradigm," he added.

The NCG's objective is to strengthen extended deterrence, discuss nuclear and strategic planning, and manage the threat to the nonproliferation regime posed by North Korea.

The group was established during a summit between Yoon and U.S. President Joe Biden in Washington in April. It will meet every quarter and report the results to each president.

The first session is being led by Principal Deputy National Security Adviser Kim Tae-hyo and U.S. National Security Council Coordinator for Indo-Pacific Affairs Kurt Campbell.

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