US White House: "Korea-US Leaders to Discuss Extended Deterrence... Aim for Korean Peninsula Denuclearization"

The White House announced on the 25th (local time) that during the summit held to mark President Yoon Seok-yeol's state visit to the United States, the leaders of South Korea and the U.S. will discuss ways to strengthen extended deterrence in response to North Korea's nuclear missile threats. It also reaffirmed that the ultimate goal is the complete denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula.

John Kirby, Coordinator for Strategic Communications at the White House National Security Council (NSC), stated at the State Department Foreign Press Center (FPC) briefing that "President Joe Biden will welcome President Yoon, the first Indo-Pacific leader to make a state visit, at the White House," adding, "This visit commemorates the 70th anniversary of the strong South Korea-U.S. alliance."

Coordinator Kirby expressed confidence that "extended deterrence will be an agenda item at the (summit) meeting," saying, "The two presidents will announce details at an appropriate time, but you can certainly expect it." He also emphasized, "Both South Korea and the U.S. share concerns about the current situation in North Korea," and "We have consistently called for North Korea to engage in dialogue without preconditions. We make it clear that the complete denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula is our ultimate goal."

[Image source=Yonhap News]

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On the same day, when asked whether the South Korean government wants to explicitly state military support for Ukraine, Kirby responded, "South Korea has already provided $250 million to Ukraine on a humanitarian basis, and President Yoon is one of the leaders who has clearly condemned Russia's invasion of Ukraine," adding, "(Whether to provide support) is a matter for South Korea to decide."

Regarding Russia's threat to supply advanced weapons to North Korea if South Korea provides military aid to Ukraine, he pointed out, "Denuclearization and tension reduction are needed on the Korean Peninsula," and "Supplying weapons to destabilize security on the Korean Peninsula benefits no one."

Regarding a report by a foreign media outlet the previous day that the U.S. government requested that South Korean companies not fill the gap if China bans Micron's semiconductor sales, Kirby avoided a direct answer, saying, "I am not in a position to confirm that." However, he added, "South Korean companies are making significant investments in the U.S., and we aim to build a secure and flexible supply chain system with allies including South Korea," and "We look forward to very strong discussions on this issue this week."

Regarding President Yoon's comment in an interview with The Washington Post (WP) about normalizing South Korea-Japan relations, where he said, "It is unacceptable to say 'kneel unconditionally' over matters from 100 years ago," Kirby said, "We appreciate that the leaders of South Korea and Japan had productive dialogue on historical issues and are trying to make progress, but this is a matter for the two leaders to disclose."

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