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The guidelines laid out the principles and procedures for
maintaining and enhancing a "credible and effective" nuclear
deterrence policy and posture, according to a joint statement
from the allies' third closed-doors talks on the issue.
The Nuclear Consultative Group meeting came amid signs North
Korea is racing to develop its nuclear arms and delivery
systems.
Some South Korean politicians, including senior members of
President Yoon Suk Yeol's party, have called for Seoul to
develop its own nuclear weapons rather than just rely on the
U.S. nuclear umbrella, a step Washington opposes.
Monday's meeting followed up on last year's summit, when the
United States promised to give South Korea more insight into its
nuclear planning for any conflict with the North.
Vipin Narang, acting U.S. assistant secretary of defense for
space policy who co-chaired the talks, said the guidelines set
up an architecture for how the allies integrate conventional and
nuclear capabilities which will be ultimately provided to each
country's leadership in a crisis.
"The guidelines cover the principles and procedures for
consultations, particularly in a DPRK nuclear crisis and inform
alliance operational concepts and exercises," Narang told a news
conference, using the acronym of North Korea's official name,
the Democratic People's Republic of Korea.
Cho Chang-rae, South Korea's deputy defense minister for policy,
said high-level officials from both countries will hold a
simulated tabletop exercise before regular summertime drills,
with a focus on the possibility of North Korea using a nuclear
weapon.
The two Koreas are still technically at war after their 1950-53
conflict ended in an armistice, not a peace treaty.
In late May, North Korea's attempt to launch a military
reconnaissance satellite failed after a newly developed rocket
engine exploded in flight.
Seoul and Washington condemned the launch as a violation of U.N.
Security Council sanctions banning Pyongyang's use of ballistic
technology.
After their second meeting in December, both sides warned that
any nuclear attack by North Korea against the United States or
its allies will be met with a "swift, overwhelming and decisive
response" and result in the end of Kim Jong Un's regime.
Their next meeting will be held in Washington near the end of
the year, the joint statement said.
(Reporting by Hyonhee Shin; Editing by Gerry Doyle and Andrew
Heavens)
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