Yoon, Biden Vow ‘Swift, Overwhelming, Decisive’ Response to Nuclear Attack by N. Korea

President Yoon Suk Yeol and U.S. President Joe Biden have reaffirmed that any nuclear attack by North Korea against South Korea will be met with a “swift, overwhelming and decisive response.”

The two leaders made the pledge on Thursday in a joint statement released after bilateral summit talks held on the sidelines of of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization(NATO) summit in Washington D.C. 

 

Yoon and Biden adopted the joint statement on the guidelines for nuclear deterrence and nuclear operations on the Korean Peninsula, reaffirming the Washington Declaration that they adopted last year to bolster extended deterrence.  

President Yoon reiterated that South Korea’s full range of capabilities will greatly contribute to the Alliance’s combined defense posture and Biden stressed that the U.S. commitment to extended deterrence to South Korea is backed by the full range of U.S. capabilities, including nuclear. 

The two leaders also approved the signing of the Guidelines for Nuclear Deterrence and Nuclear Operations on the Korean Peninsula by the defense ministries of the two nations. 

The South Korea-U.S. Nuclear Consultative Group(NCG) established in April 2023 has been working on fleshing out the deterrence document. 

Yoon and Biden said that the progress made since the establishment of the NCG demonstrates the truly global, comprehensive, strategic alliance between the two countries, the ever-stronger mutual defense relationship, and their shared interest in peace, stability, and the complete denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula.