Shin Beom-chul: "South Korea and US Will Not Include Japan in NCG"

At the meeting between the South Korean, U.S., and Japanese leaders held on the sidelines of the Group of Seven (G7) summit, President Biden proposed inviting the South Korean and Japanese leaders to Washington to hold a separate trilateral meeting. In response to concerns from some quarters that Japan's participation in the Nuclear Consultative Group (NCG) might be discussed at this meeting, Vice Minister of Defense Shin Beom-chul stated that Japan would not be included in the NCG between South Korea and the U.S.

On the 22nd, Vice Minister Shin responded to a question from the host on CBS's 'Kim Hyun-jung's News Show' regarding this matter, saying, "I don't think Japan will suddenly be included in the NCG at the next summit."

[Image source=Yonhap News]

During the G7 summit, the South Korean, U.S., and Japanese leaders had a brief meeting of about two minutes, during which President Biden mentioned "a new level of cooperation" and invited the South Korean and Japanese leaders to Washington. If realized, this would be the first time the three leaders meet outside of a multilateral conference.

Vice Minister Shin explained, "The NCG is a consultative body between South Korea and the U.S. that maximizes extended deterrence cooperation in response to North Korea's nuclear threat. The NCG itself is operated between South Korea and the U.S. I understand that Japan also wants to create something like the NCG, but it is not yet clear how far discussions between Japan and the U.S. have progressed."

When asked by the host whether Japanese Prime Minister Kishida requested to be included during his visit to South Korea, Vice Minister Shin said, "(The NCG) is, in a way, the highest-level consultative body for extended deterrence, so Japan also wants to engage in extended deterrence cooperation. If there is extended deterrence cooperation between Japan and the U.S. or regional-level cooperation, that can be discussed at a different table and achieved within the framework of security cooperation." He clarified that while another NCG between the U.S. and Japan could be discussed, Japan would not be included in the South Korea-U.S. NCG.

Regarding the agenda to be discussed at the Washington trilateral meeting, he said, "As I mentioned earlier, it is about making the level of cooperation more comprehensive. In the past, military security cooperation was the focus, but the Biden administration is pursuing supply chain cooperation and science and technology cooperation with all countries. Probably, in that regard, cooperation among South Korea, the U.S., and Japan in supply chains and advanced technology will be proposed."

He explained that the location and timing of the meeting have not yet been decided. He said, "This could be in the summer or just before the United Nations General Assembly in September, where the three leaders could meet in Washington and have sufficient separate time together. However, as far as I know, the timing and location of this meeting have not been determined yet."

When asked whether China might respond with sanctions such as the 'Hanhanryeong' (Korean Wave ban) due to the close South Korea-U.S.-Japan cooperation, Vice Minister Shin said, "The possibility is low. Since the inauguration of the Yoon Seok-youl administration, we have basically aimed to solidify our camp, strengthening the South Korea-U.S. alliance and South Korea-U.S.-Japan cooperation. In that process, we have emphasized mutually beneficial cooperation with China and have continued efforts to maintain dialogue with China."

He also emphasized that President Yoon's stance against "unilateral changes by force" is a universal message. He said, "(China) expresses dissatisfaction by equating this issue with the Taiwan issue, but China must be well aware that South Korea can only assert this as a general principle of international law. Because if that were allowed, North Korea could also change the status quo by force with its nuclear weapons, which is directly opposed to the national interests of the Republic of Korea."

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