[Yang Nak-gyu's Defence Club] Can We Receive the US Nuclear Umbrella Guarantee?

F11 Stealth Bomber

[Asia Economy Yang Nak-gyu, Military Specialist Reporter] The Ministry of National Defense emphasized that the United States' nuclear umbrella commitment remains unchanged. This comes amid waves of concern as it has been reported that the U.S. government is considering including the principle of ‘No First Use’ (NFU) of nuclear weapons in the upcoming ‘Nuclear Posture Review’ (NPR) report to be announced early next year.

On the 4th, the Ministry of National Defense responded to the question, "Is the nuclear umbrella commitment unchanged in relation to the U.S. mentioning ‘no first use’ of nuclear weapons?" by saying, "There have been many expressions that the extended deterrence commitment between South Korea and the U.S. remains firm, and this is actually reflected in behavior."

The NPR is a report outlining the basic direction of the U.S. government's nuclear policy, published four times every eight years in 1994, 2002, 2010, and 2018. The Joe Biden administration, inaugurated this January, broke this cycle and officially announced through the Department of Defense in September that it had begun work on the next NPR. The completion is expected around January next year.

Concerns have been raised that officially declaring the ‘NFU’ principle in the NPR could affect South Korea and its security posture.

Currently, the U.S. government is reviewing whether to specify in the next NPR the NFU principle that "the U.S. will not use nuclear weapons unless the adversary uses them first" and the ‘sole purpose’ principle that "nuclear weapons are used only for the defense of the U.S. homeland or when an attack on the homeland is imminent."

If this happens, there are criticisms that "the nuclear deterrence against North Korea under the U.S. nuclear umbrella may not function properly." Currently, South Korea’s response to North Korea’s nuclear threat is based on the U.S.-ROK alliance’s extended deterrence, i.e., the provision of a ‘nuclear umbrella’ by the U.S. Relatedly, Won In-chul, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said at last month’s National Assembly audit, "If North Korea launches a nuclear attack, the ROK-U.S. alliance is agreed to use all capabilities to deter and suppress it."

Meanwhile, as the annual outdoor field training, the Defense Ministry-led Homeland Defense Exercise, and the ROK-U.S. combined air exercise are scheduled to conclude on the 5th, the Joint Chiefs of Staff reported that there have been no special movements from the North Korean military so far.

Kim Jun-rak, spokesperson for the Joint Chiefs of Staff, explained in a briefing regarding related inquiries, "Our military is closely monitoring relevant developments under tight cooperation between ROK and U.S. intelligence authorities and is firmly maintaining military readiness," adding, "So far, there is nothing additional to explain."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.