South Korea and the U.S. to Further Expand North Korea Nuclear and WMD Information Sharing

Massive Destruction Weapons Response Committee Meeting Held... "Strengthening Execution Capability"

The Ministry of National Defense announced on the 14th that it held the 'Countering Weapons of Mass Destruction Committee' (CWMDC) with the U.S. Department of Defense in Washington DC on the 12th and 13th, sharing information on North Korea's nuclear and weapons of mass destruction (WMD) threats and discussing ways to strengthen the execution of joint responses.

Both sides agreed to expand the level and scope of information sharing related to wartime North Korean nuclear and WMD elimination operations, and to strengthen cooperation for the development of combined post-operation management plans and procedures to minimize damage caused by North Korean nuclear and WMD use, protect the alliance, and maintain warfighting capabilities. They also decided to continuously enhance the capabilities and expertise of Korean organizations and personnel by expanding the application areas of the 'Cooperative Threat Reduction' (CTR) program on the Korean Peninsula, which is being implemented to strengthen nuclear and WMD response capabilities.

CTR is an international security program of the U.S. Department of Defense aimed at enhancing allied countries' capabilities to respond to WMD threats. In October 2019, South Korea and the U.S. adopted the 'Joint Statement on the Korea-U.S. CTR Program Partnership.'

The Ministries of National Defense of South Korea and the U.S. highly evaluated the successful implementation of the '2023 Chemical, Biological, Radiological, and Nuclear (CBRN) Response Exercise,' conducted to strengthen combined defense posture and operational capabilities against North Korean nuclear and WMD threats, and agreed to promote expanded participation of government agencies in next year's exercise. At this meeting, Kim Seong-gu, Deputy Director of Policy Planning at the Ministry of National Defense, served as the chief representative for South Korea, and Richard Johnson, Deputy Assistant Secretary for Nuclear and WMD Response at the U.S. Department of Defense, served as the chief representative for the U.S.

Both representatives assessed that this meeting substantially contributed to strengthening cooperation in responding to North Korean nuclear and WMD threats, and the Ministry of National Defense conveyed that they agreed to continue cooperating to effectively deter North Korea's threats and respond as necessary.

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