The Republic of Korea (ROK) and United States convened in Washington, D.C., in early January 2025 for the fourth Nuclear Consultative Group (NCG), an enduring bilateral consultative body to strengthen extended deterrence which contributes to peace and stability on the Korean Peninsula and in the Indo-Pacific region.
The meeting was co-chaired by Cara Abercrombie, who is performing the duties of U.S. Deputy Under Secretary of Defense for Policy, and Dr. Cho Chang Lae, ROK deputy minister for National Defense Policy. Other participants included ROK and U.S. officials from the U.S. National Security Council, the ROK National Security Office and relevant defense, foreign affairs, intelligence and military authorities.

During the meeting, both sides welcomed NCG work that has bolstered nuclear deterrence and the response capabilities of the alliance in recent months through in-depth discussions on all areas of extended deterrence, including information sharing, consultative mechanisms, and joint planning and execution.

The U.S. reaffirmed its commitment to South Korea is enduring and ironclad. Any nuclear attack by North Korea will be met with a swift, overwhelming and decisive response. The U.S. also reiterated that any nuclear attack by North Korea against the United States or its Allies and Partners is unacceptable and will result in the end of the Kim regime. The U.S. commitment to extended deterrence to South Korea is backed by the full range of U.S. capabilities, including nuclear. Moreover, both sides noted the strengthened extended deterrence cooperation between the U.S. and the ROK through the ongoing work of existing consultation bodies, including the NCG, the Extended Deterrence Strategy and Consultation Group and the Security Consultative Meeting.

The NCG co-chairs reviewed the progress on NCG workstreams, including on security and information sharing protocols; nuclear and strategic planning; conventional-nuclear integration (CNI); exercises, simulations, and trainings; nuclear consultation and strategic communication processes during crises and contingencies; the establishment of dedicated secure communication systems; and strategic messaging. NCG principals also discussed efforts to maintain and strengthen nuclear deterrence policy and posture, in accordance with U.S.-ROK Guidelines for Nuclear Deterrence and Nuclear Operations on the Korean Peninsula, which is a key document for enhancing U.S.-ROK extended deterrence cooperation in an integrated manner.

The NCG co-chairs applauded the progress toward nuclear and strategic planning, especially on the CNI workstream developed by defense components, including ROK Strategic Command, U.S.-ROK Combined Forces Command, U.S. Forces Korea, U.S. Indo-Pacific Command and U.S. Strategic Command. This includes working in lockstep to closely connect the capabilities and planning activities of the new ROK Strategic Command to the Alliance’s combined defense posture.

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