The United States has reaffirmed its commitment to extended deterrence for South Korea during the first Nuclear Consultative Group (NCG) meeting under President Donald Trump's second term. Held in Washington, the allies discussed utilizing the full range of U.S. defense capabilities, including nuclear, to strengthen their alliance. South Korea pledged to take a leading role in the conventional defense of the Korean Peninsula.
South Korea's defense ministry said the allies held the fifth Nuclear Consultative Group (NCG) meeting in Washington on Thursday. This marked the first such gathering under U.S. President Donald Trump's second term, following a nearly one-year hiatus since the fourth meeting in January. The session was led by Kim Hong-cheol, South Korea's deputy minister for national defense policy, and Robert Soofer, the U.S. acting deputy assistant secretary of defense for nuclear deterrence, chemical and biological policy.
In a joint press statement, Soofer reiterated the U.S. commitment to provide extended deterrence to South Korea, utilizing the full range of U.S. defense capabilities, including nuclear. Kim stressed that South Korea will assume the 'leading role' in the conventional defense of the Korean Peninsula, a commitment laid out for the first time in an NCG joint statement.
The allies reviewed progress on NCG workstreams and recognized the body as an enduring bilateral consultative mechanism to strengthen the U.S.-ROK Alliance and enhance extended deterrence. ROK stands for the Republic of Korea. The NCG was established following the April 2023 summit between former South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol and former U.S. President Joe Biden to bolster the credibility of U.S. extended deterrence, encompassing the full spectrum of military capabilities, including nuclear, to defend South Korea.
The meeting occurred as President Lee Jae Myung's administration pushes to bolster independent defense capabilities, while the U.S. urges South Korea to assume a larger defense role to modernize their decades-long alliance. Lee has pledged to increase defense spending to 3.5 percent of gross domestic product and regain wartime operational control from Washington during his five-year term.
Unlike the previous four sessions, the latest NCG statement contained no reference to North Korea. The fourth meeting's statement included a U.S. warning that any nuclear attack by North Korea against Washington and its allies is 'unacceptable' and would result in the 'end of that regime.' Such phrases may have been omitted to support Trump's efforts to resume summit diplomacy with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un.
The joint statement noted in-depth discussions on all areas of extended deterrence, including information sharing, consultation and communication processes, as well as 'conventional-nuclear integration.' However, it omitted mentions of 'joint planning and execution' of nuclear strategy and the U.S. commitment to enhance the 'regular visibility of U.S. strategic assets' on the Korean Peninsula.
The allies approved future plans and activities for the sixth NCG meeting in the first half of 2026. In response to local reports raising concerns over a potential weakening of U.S. extended deterrence, the defense ministry stated that bilateral cooperation is 'deepening and taking shape,' and the shared stance of not tolerating North Korea's nuclear program remains unwavering.
