Hanmi NCG Joint Press Statement: "If North Korea Uses Nuclear Weapons, Kim Jong-un Regime Will End"

2nd Korea-US NCG Meeting Held in Washington, USA

On the 15th (local time), South Korea and the United States held the 2nd Nuclear Consultative Group (NCG) meeting and reaffirmed their warning messages to North Korea and the enhancement of extended deterrence capabilities. Both countries also emphasized that if North Korea uses nuclear weapons, the Kim Jong-un regime will come to an end.

Senior security officials from both South Korea and the United States made this announcement in a joint press statement regarding the Korea-US NCG meeting held in Washington D.C. on the same day, after evaluating the extended deterrence efforts made so far. The meeting was chaired by Kim Tae-hyo, First Deputy Director of the National Security Office, and Maher Bitar, Coordinator for Intelligence and Defense Policy at the U.S. National Security Council (NSC).

The U.S. side stated, "The U.S. commitment to extended deterrence for the Republic of Korea, supported by all categories of U.S. capabilities including nuclear, is unwavering," and warned, "Any nuclear attack by North Korea against the United States and its allies is unacceptable and will result in the end of the Kim Jong-un regime." They further emphasized, "Any nuclear attack by North Korea against South Korea will face an immediate, overwhelming, and decisive response."

Kim Tae-hyo, First Deputy Director of the National Security Office (left), and Kurt Campbell, U.S. National Security Council (NSC) Indo-Pacific Coordinator, are smiling brightly and shaking hands after a joint press conference related to the launch meeting of the Korea-U.S. Nuclear Consultative Group (NCG) held on July 18 at the Yongsan Presidential Office building in Seoul.
[Image source=Yonhap News]

Both sides evaluated that the NCG tasks, which include ▲overall guidelines on nuclear strategic planning and operations ▲security and information-sharing procedures ▲nuclear consultation procedures during crises and wartime ▲nuclear and strategic planning ▲Korea-US nuclear and conventional integration (CNI) ▲strategic messaging ▲exercises, simulations, training, and investment activities ▲risk reduction measures, have progressed through frequent NCG working-level meetings since the 1st NCG meeting in July, deepening Korea-US nuclear deterrence cooperation.

They also mentioned that a focused nuclear deterrence training course was held in November for South Korean interagency officials, and that practical interagency cooperation between the two countries is being realized through the NCG.

In particular, both sides reviewed the regular visibility enhancement of U.S. strategic assets to strengthen extended deterrence capabilities, including the port call of the U.S. strategic nuclear submarine USS Kentucky at Busan in July, the flight and landing of the B-52 strategic bomber over the Korean Peninsula in October, and the joint observation of a U.S. intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) test launch in November. They also discussed future deployment plans of U.S. strategic assets to demonstrate deterrence enhancement.

Furthermore, they approved the NCG mission plan for the first half of 2024 and the major upcoming schedules, with a policy to achieve substantial progress in a swift manner. Both sides plan to report the progress of the NCG tasks to President Yoon Suk-yeol and U.S. President Joe Biden, respectively.

The 3rd NCG meeting will be held in South Korea in the summer of 2024.

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