Seoul says Korea will take leading role in peninsula defense

Officials stress program not aimed at any specific country

US unlikely to easily cede nuclear authority it has held for decades

First Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Park Yun-ju and US Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs Allison Hooker pose for a photo before the inaugural working-level meeting on security follow-up measures from the South Korea-US summit joint fact sheet, held at the Foreign Ministry annex of the Government Seoul Complex in Jongno-gu on June 2. [Ministry of Foreign Affairs]
First Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Park Yun-ju and US Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs Allison Hooker pose for a photo before the inaugural working-level meeting on security follow-up measures from the South Korea-US summit joint fact sheet, held at the Foreign Ministry annex of the Government Seoul Complex in Jongno-gu on June 2. [Ministry of Foreign Affairs]

South Korea's Ministry of Foreign Affairs said Monday that Seoul and Washington share the view that Korea's nuclear-powered submarine program represents a critical alliance capability for Korea to take a leading role in defending the Korean Peninsula.

A Foreign Ministry official made the remarks to reporters while briefing on the results of the inaugural working-level consultations on the Korea-US Joint Fact Sheet, held June 2 and 3. The official also said the government has consistently explained publicly, on multiple occasions, that the nuclear submarine program is being pursued to strengthen Korea's security in response to a rapidly changing security environment on the peninsula — and that it is not directed at any specific country. The remarks appeared intended to preempt speculation that the submarine program is designed to help the United States counter China.

A US working-level delegation led by Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs Allison Hooker visited Seoul the previous week for two days of talks with their Korean counterparts. On the atmosphere of those meetings, the official said the most significant outcome was an agreement to establish a framework for reviewing progress throughout the year and to accelerate future consultations. The official added that both sides agreed the strengthening of the Korea-US nuclear energy partnership serves the shared interests of both countries, and committed to begin substantive discussions on how to move that forward.

"I got the impression that the US side was also genuinely engaged in these consultations, and the atmosphere on the ground was very positive," the official said. The official noted that the US delegation, led by Under Secretary Hooker, included officials from the Department of State and the Department of Energy who have the authority to discuss enrichment and reprocessing issues. "The fact that the United States sent an under secretary of state as its chief representative in itself demonstrates the US political will to implement the agreements reached between the two leaders," the official said.

However, the official cautioned that the positive start to working-level negotiations should not lead to assumptions that future talks with the United States will be easy. Compared with Japan, the EU and India — which have previously received enrichment rights from the United States — the international landscape, nonproliferation discourse, and the level of indigenous technology and capability at the time of those agreements differ significantly from current circumstances.

Dispelling doubts among the US Congress and some think tanks about Korea's commitment to nonproliferation is also cited as a challenge. "Simply put, we should not expect the United States to easily relinquish the nuclear oversight authority it has exercised for decades," the official said.

On demonstrating Korea's nonproliferation commitment, the official said the country must continue to reaffirm its strong commitment to nonproliferation — as President Lee Jae-myung emphasized again at his first-anniversary press conference on Monday — and work to ensure that unnecessary messages, including terminology that could invite misunderstanding from outside, are not sent.

The official went on to say the government has a clear objective: to secure Korea's energy sovereignty through entirely peaceful, civilian-purpose enrichment and reprocessing, to strengthen and expand the Korea-US nuclear energy partnership, and to continue reinforcing Korea's standing as a responsible state within the global nuclear nonproliferation framework.

The two countries agreed to continue working-level consultations and coordinate the specifics of each area going forward.

"Going forward, I expect there will be several more plenary sessions convened by the two countries' national security councils, and in addition to those, delegations from both sides will consult frequently on specific areas such as enrichment and reprocessing and nuclear submarines," the official said.

The official added that once talks move into specific areas, there will be many issues requiring in-depth consultations between the two sides. "This is work that requires building a new cooperative framework that satisfies both Korea and the United States, and in that sense, I believe a great deal of deliberation and coordination between the two countries will still be needed going forward," the official said.


moone@heraldcorp.com