[Provided by the Ministry of National Defense]
[Provided by the Ministry of National Defense]

South Korea and the United States held the sixth meeting of the Nuclear Consultative Group on Thursday, reaffirming their "shared goal of North Korea's denuclearization."

The Ministry of National Defense said in a joint press statement that the US side "reaffirmed its commitment to providing extended deterrence to the Republic of Korea using the full range of US capabilities, including nuclear."

The meeting was co-chaired by Kim Hong-cheol, director general for defense policy at South Korea's Ministry of National Defense, and Robert Soofer, US deputy assistant secretary of defense for nuclear deterrence and WMD policy. The NCG convened for the first time in about six months since its previous session in the United States last December.

Both sides agreed to continue developing NCG activities to strengthen the alliance and extended deterrence amid North Korea's advancing nuclear and missile capabilities and a shifting security environment.

During the meeting, the two sides reviewed NCG work streams including security and information sharing, consultation procedures for nuclear crises, conventional-nuclear integration (CNI), CPX and training, strategic messaging and risk reduction.

The ministry said the two delegations "assessed military efforts to advance US-South Korea CNI for deterring and responding to North Korean nuclear threats and agreed to continue developing them." The two sides also signed the "US-ROK NCG Security Guidelines" to protect information required for NCG activities and consultations.

The delegations agreed to report the NCG outcomes to the defense ministers of both countries at the 58th Security Consultative Meeting. They also approved NCG work streams and key activities for the second half of 2026, including plans to hold the seventh NCG plenary session.


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