Yoon Announces Expansion of Extended Deterrence Among Korea, US, and Japan... "Separate Consultations Are Ongoing" (Comprehensive)

Bloomberg Interview Suggests Possible Expansion of Extended Deterrence on North Korea's Nuclear Program
Strong Message to North Korea: "Illegal Nuclear and Missile Development Will Surely Have Consequences"
Confidence in Strengthening Economic Cooperation... Yoon: "Joint Research in Emerging Technologies like AI and Quantum"

President Yoon Suk-yeol announced ahead of the trilateral summit between South Korea, the United States, and Japan scheduled for the 18th (local time) that "a separate consultation among South Korea, the United States, and Japan regarding extended deterrence is underway." The United States has raised the possibility of expanding extended deterrence, which could involve the use of its strategic nuclear weapons to prevent nuclear attacks on its allies. In line with the 'Washington Declaration' announced at the recent Washington summit between South Korea and the United States, the first meeting of the Nuclear Consultative Group (NCG) has also been held.

In a written interview with Bloomberg published on the 16th, President Yoon stated, "The international community will never tolerate North Korea as a nuclear-armed state under any circumstances." This means that North Korea will not be recognized as a de facto or legitimate nuclear-armed state, thereby not treating it as a responsible actor. Bloomberg reported that regarding extended deterrence, the United States and Japan have established regular extended deterrence dialogues since 2010.

[Image source=Yonhap News]

President Yoon will depart on the 17th to attend the South Korea-U.S.-Japan summit held at Camp David in the United States. Unlike the multilateral summit, this is the first-ever standalone summit among the three leaders, where they are expected to discuss practical cooperation plans in various fields such as security cooperation, advanced technology, and supply chains.

Detailed economic cooperation discussions among the three countries are also anticipated. President Yoon said, "We plan to strengthen the cooperative system to enhance the resilience of supply chains," adding, "We will conduct joint research and cooperation in key emerging technology fields such as AI (artificial intelligence), quantum, and space, which will be future growth engines, and work together to establish global standards."

A strong message of cooperation regarding North Korea is expected. President Yoon emphasized, "The complete denuclearization of North Korea is a clear and unwavering goal of the international community, including South Korea and the United States," and added, "The international community will never recognize North Korea as a nuclear-armed state under any circumstances." He further stated, "There must be consequences for North Korea's continuous and illegal nuclear and missile development, and it must realize that only isolation and regime crisis will deepen."

The Presidential Office also expects that through this summit, the three countries will establish the core framework for security cooperation and institutionalize it. A senior official from the Presidential Office said, "The three leaders will discuss a joint vision and basic principles for the meeting and build a comprehensive and multilayered cooperation system across various fields." This is expected to serve as an opportunity to strengthen trilateral security cooperation to respond to common regional threats and ensure peace and security.

The official added, "They will focus on discussing practical cooperation measures to jointly respond to North Korea's nuclear missile threats." In addition, cooperation measures for regional shared prosperity and future growth will be addressed. The three leaders are also expected to exchange views on expanding advanced technology sectors to secure future growth engines for South Korea, the United States, and Japan, as well as strengthening partnerships for joint responses in supply chain and energy supply stability.

Since this summit is referred to as the 'South Korea-U.S.-Japan Summit' rather than the commonly used term 'South Korea-U.S.-Japan Summit Meeting,' it is anticipated that the status of trilateral cooperation and meetings among the three leaders will be further elevated. This terminology choice can also be interpreted as highlighting South Korea-U.S.-Japan cooperation in response to the 'China-Japan-South Korea Summit,' which has been held regularly since 2008. Given that the China-Japan-South Korea Summit has not been held since 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic and amid intensifying U.S.-China hegemonic competition, the United States' maintenance of hegemony in the Pacific region makes various cooperation with South Korea and Japan essential, marking the possible beginning of regular South Korea-U.S.-Japan summits.

[Image source=Yonhap News]

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