'US-ROK NCG Deputy Minister-Level Upgrade and Launch in Seoul for North Korea Nuclear Deterrence... North Korea Reacts with "Nuclear Collision Crisis" Opposition'

Launch of NCG for North Korea Nuclear and Missile Response on the 18th
Kim Tae-hyo, 1st Deputy Director of National Security Office, and Kurt Campbell, NSC Coordinator, Attend
North Korea Denounces "Worst Phase of Nuclear Collision Crisis"

The Korea-US Nuclear Consultative Group (NCG) for extended deterrence, addressing North Korea's nuclear and missile provocations, will launch with a vice ministerial-level meeting in Seoul on the 18th. Given North Korea's escalating provocations, including attempts to launch reconnaissance satellites, it is interpreted that both Korea and the US are focusing on a "strong driving force for extended deterrence," from upgrading the NCG's scale to deciding its launch timing and location.

A key official from the Presidential Office explained to Asia Economy on the 10th, "The Korea-US NCG was launched to counter North Korea's nuclear and missile provocations, and it was elevated to the vice ministerial level to ensure momentum, with direct oversight from the Presidential Office and the White House." Initially planned as a deputy director-level consultative body, both countries upgraded it to vice ministerial-level personnel from their Presidential Offices to accelerate consultations and achieve concrete results.

Furthermore, after Presidents Yoon and Biden agreed on the Washington Declaration in April, which included the establishment of the Korea-US NCG, North Korea's attempt to launch a reconnaissance satellite on May 31 and its shift from nuclear and missile tests to space launch vehicles, representing a stronger level of provocation, are seen as factors influencing the upgrade of the consultative body. The official stated, "Originally, the Korea-US NCG was established due to North Korea's nuclear and missile provocations," adding, "We have no choice but to respond to North Korea's level of provocation."

On the Korean side, Kim Tae-hyo, First Deputy Director of the National Security Office, and on the US side, Kurt Campbell, White House National Security Council (NSC) Indo-Pacific Coordinator, and Kara Abercrombie, NSC Defense and Arms Control Policy Coordinator, will attend the meeting. This Korea-US NCG will discuss concrete measures to elevate the Korea-US alliance from a conventional force-based alliance to a "nuclear-based alliance," implementing the Washington Declaration agreed upon during President Yoon Seok-yeol's state visit to the US in April, where he held a summit with President Joe Biden. They will also discuss information sharing, consultation systems, joint planning, and execution measures to strengthen nuclear deterrence against North Korea.

The timing of the launch and the location of the first meeting are also seen as decisions made with North Korea in mind. North Korea is preparing a large-scale military parade in Pyongyang on the 27th of this month, the anniversary of the Korean War armistice, to mark the 70th anniversary of Victory Day. In response, Korea and the US plan to hold the Korea-US NCG, symbolizing the strengthening of their military alliance, to neutralize North Korea's will to provoke.

In particular, the fact that the first meeting will be held in Seoul, 195 km in a straight line from Pyongyang, rather than in Washington, carries a message of extended deterrence. Lee Do-woon, spokesperson for the Presidential Office, said at a briefing the previous day, "Holding the meeting in Seoul symbolically demonstrates the US's interest and determination, as expressed in the Washington Declaration and the launch of the NCG, to firmly protect Korea from nuclear attack threats."

Meanwhile, a spokesperson for North Korea's Ministry of Defense condemned the US strategic nuclear submarine's port call to the Korean Peninsula in a statement released through the Korean Central News Agency on the same day, calling it "a very dangerous situation that escalates military tensions to a precarious level and realistically forces us to accept the worst phase of a 'nuclear collision crisis.'" This is interpreted as a backlash against the possible deployment of US strategic nuclear submarines around the time of the NCG's first meeting.

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