Ministry of Foreign Affairs: "US Nuclear Posture Review Shared Between South Korea and US... Various Opportunities Under Discussion"

President Joe Biden of the United States (Photo by EPA, Yonhap News)

[Asia Economy Reporter Ryu Tae-min] The government stated that it is "discussing with the United States on various occasions" in response to foreign media reports that U.S. allies are lobbying to prevent the Biden administration's Nuclear Posture Review (NPR) from including key content currently being drafted.

On the 31st, a Ministry of Foreign Affairs official said, "The U.S. side is sharing the ongoing NPR review trends with us," emphasizing, "The ROK-U.S. combined defense posture and the U.S. extended deterrence commitment remain firm, and the ROK and the U.S., as allies, are closely communicating and consulting across various security fields."

Earlier, some foreign media reported on the 30th (local time) that the Biden administration, drafting the new NPR, is considering a so-called 'no first use' policy, and that U.S. allies have begun lobbying to prevent this. The remarks from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs official were a response to this report.

Currently, allies are concerned that the U.S. nuclear policy might adopt a 'no first use' declaration, which means not using nuclear weapons preemptively, or a so-called 'sole purpose' policy, which restricts nuclear weapon use to deterring direct attacks on the U.S. or retaliating against those who attack the U.S., according to the UK Financial Times.

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