President Biden and South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol unveiled at the White House Wednesday a new agreement designed to deter North Korea from launching a nuclear attack, including the deployment of a U.S. nuclear-armed submarine to South Korea for the first time in nearly 40 years.
The arrangement, which is dubbed the “Washington Declaration,” was the centerpiece of Mr. Yoon’s visit to Washington as Mr. Biden hosted him for a bilateral meeting, joint press conference, and state dinner at the White House.
South Korea already benefits from protection under the U.S. “nuclear umbrella,” which is the nuclear-powered nation’s guarantee to defend a non-nuclear ally.
But North Korea has become increasingly aggressive in testing nuclear missiles and shown little interest in diplomacy about reducing its nuclear stockpile, raising alarms in Seoul and Japan.
Pyongyang has launched 100 missiles since 2022 and earlier this month tested a solid-fuel intercontinental missile, a possible breakthrough in its efforts to produce more powerful weaponry that can reach the U.S.
Mr. Biden issued a stern warning to Pyongyang during a joint press conference with Mr. Yoon in the White House Rose Garden.
“A nuclear attack by North Korea against the United States or its allies or partisans — partners — is unacceptable and would result in the end of whatever regime were to take such an action,” he said.
The agreement will enable the U.S. and South Korea to better coordinate a strategy if North Korea attacks Seoul, but also keeps nuclear weapons under U.S. control. Mr. Biden emphasized that the U.S. will not be stationing nuclear weapons on the peninsula.
Under the Washington Declaration, the U.S. will make its deterrent efforts more visible on the Korean peninsula through the regular deployment of strategic assets, including a U.S. nuclear submarine. The last time a U.S. nuclear submarine docked in South Korea was in the early 1980s.
In exchange, South Korea committed to not restarting its own nuclear program, which it abandoned 50 years ago when it signed the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty. Mr. Yoon said earlier this year the country was considering developing its own nuclear weapons because of the persistent nuclear threat from North Korea.
Both countries will also create a joint nuclear consultative group to improve the sharing of nuclear-related intelligence.
“Sustainable peace on the Korean Peninsula does not happen automatically,” Mr. Yoon said at the press conference. “Our two leaders have decided to significantly strengthen extended deterrence of our two countries against North Korea’s nuclear and missile threats so that we can achieve peace through the superiority of overwhelming forces and not a false peace based on the goodwill of the other side.”
SEE ALSO: The guest list for the State Dinner honoring South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol
U.S. lawmakers on both sides of the aisle said they welcomed the agreement.
Republican Sens. Jim Risch of Idaho, the ranking member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, and Roger Wicker of Mississippi said the arrangement with South Korea “will help strengthen deterrence.”
Mr. Yoon’s state visit comes as the U.S. and South Korea honor the 70th year of their alliance, which started at the end of the Korean War. The pact includes a promise from Washington that it will defend South Korea, including from the threat of North Korea. Roughly 28,000 U.S. troops are stationed in South Korea.
The two presidents celebrated the “ironclad alliance” amid fife and drums on the White House lawn ahead of their high-level meetings and a state dinner.
Korean War veterans attended Mr. Yoon’s arrival at the White House on Wednesday morning. On Tuesday, Mr. Yoon and Mr. Biden toured the Korean War Veterans Memorial in Washington.
The South Korean leader hailed the bravery of American troops who sacrificed their lives in a faraway land in the 1950s “for one noble cause, to defend freedom.”
Looming over the two presidents’ meetings were recent online leaks of Pentagon documents revealing evidence of possible U.S. surveillance of its allies, including South Korea.
Members of Mr. Yoon’s opposition party have seized on the issue to raise questions about Seoul’s alliance with the U.S., but the South Korean leader brushed aside the controversy during the news conference.
Mr. Yoon would not say whether Mr. Biden gave him any assurances the surveillance would stop or even if the subject was broached. Instead, he called for more time so the U.S. can get to the bottom of the situation, adding the two nations were sharing information about it.
“We need time to wait for the investigation results by the United States and we plan to continue to communicate on the matter,” he said.
The leaked papers showed that the South Korean National Security Council “grappled” with the U.S. last month over the Biden administration’s request to provide ammunition to Ukraine in its war against Russian invaders.
Seoul has never confirmed such a request, fearing that it would provoke Russia, whose cooperation South Korea needs to help contain the nuclear threat from North Korea.
Another leaked document showed that senior presidential aides in Seoul feared Mr. Biden would pressure Mr. Yoon to ship ammunition to Ukraine or that artillery shells that South Korea sold the U.S. would end up in the war-ravaged country.
The state dinner Wednesday evening marks the second state visit of the Biden presidency, after French President Emmanuel Macron and his wife, Brigitte, arrived in Washington in December.
The red carpet, black-tie dinner includes leaders, key dignitaries, and their spouses, full of pageantry and glamour after weeks of careful planning.
Notable guests include actress Angelina Jolie, who was accompanied by her son, Maddox Jolie-Pitt, and television stars Chip and Joanna Gaines.
Sports stars Chloe Kim, an Olympic snowboarder, and baseball star Chan Ho Park also attended.
Korean American celebrity chef Edward Lee prepared a menu that included crab cakes, braised beef short ribs, and a banana split with lemon bar ice cream and mint ginger cookies. Guests were to dine under towering cherry blossoms, which are common in both countries. Three Broadway stars provided entertainment.
• Tom Howell Jr. can be reached at thowell@washingtontimes.com.
• Jeff Mordock can be reached at jmordock@washingtontimes.com.
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