U.S. reaffirmation of nuclear umbrella warning to N. Korea: Seoul

By Sam Kim
SEOUL, June 17 (Yonhap) -- The first summit-level reaffirmation of the U.S.
nuclear umbrella over South Korea constitutes a "warning" to North Korea accused
of pressing ahead with its nuclear weapons development, a defense spokesman here
said Wednesday.
In a joint statement between the leaders of the two countries, the United States
pledged "the continuing commitment of extended deterrence, including the U.S.
nuclear umbrella," for South Korea.
The meeting between South Korean President Lee Myung-bak and his U.S. counterpart
Barack Obama was their first summit since North Korea set off an underground
nuclear explosion on May 25.
The test -- the second since North Korea detonated a nuclear device in 2006 --
has drawn U.N. sanctions and prompted Lee and Obama to issue the reaffirmation of
the U.S. commitment to the defense of South Korea.
"It should be seen as a warning to North Korea," Won Tae-jae, spokesman for South
Korea's Ministry of National Defense, said in a briefing.
Concerning the U.S. pledge to continue to extend its deterrence against North
Korea, Won said details have yet to be laid out.
"No theoretical agreement has been reached between Seoul and Washington," Won
said, only describing the extended deterrence as "active protection through the
deployment of strategic weapons," such as bombers and ballistic missiles.
"Through regular meetings, South Korea and the United States will continue to
discuss what changes will be made and what significance (the reaffirmation of)
the U.S. extended deterrence has," he said.
South Korea has been under the U.S. extended deterrence against North Korea since
2006. The U.S. nuclear umbrella over South Korea, its key component, came under
the spotlight in 1992 for the first time.
About 28,500 U.S. troops are stationed in South Korea as a deterrent against
North Korea -- a legacy of the 1950-53 Korean War that ended in a truce rather
than a peace treaty.
samkim@yna.co.kr
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