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Context

• South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol arrived in the U.S. to commemorate the 70th anniversary of U.S.-South Korea bilateral relations.
• A highlight of the visit was the signing of the “Washington Declaration” as a nuclear deterrence strategy.

What was the trigger for the visit?

• The successful launch of North Korea’s Hwasong-8 solid-fuel intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM), a vital component for nuclear weapons delivery.

About Washington Declaration

• The agreement outlines cooperation towards deterrence.

Provisions:

• An American nuclear ballistic submarine would be deployed in the Korean peninsula.
• A nuclear consultative group would be formed to formulate principles of joint response tactics.
• South Korea would receive Intel from the U.S. regarding nuclear advancement.
• S. will strengthen South Korea’s nuclear deterrence capabilities through joint military training programs and an annual intergovernmental simulation.
• The declaration reaffirmed the non-proliferation Treaty.

How does it help US?

• The U.S. is hoping to make North Korea unarm itself by unarming South Korea.
• North Korea creates “deterrence dilemmas for the United States and its Allies and partners,” and “a crisis or conflict on the Korean Peninsula could involve a number of nuclear-armed actors, raising the risk of broader conflict.”
• Finally, the U.S. wants to control global nuclear arms production.

Challenges

• While the aim is to defuse the threat, physical deployment of the arsenal can be deemed as a direct threat by opposing actors and used as leverage to act aggressively.
• China criticised the agreement saying that it provokes confrontation between camps, undermines the nuclear non-proliferation regime and the strategic interests of other countries.
• North Korea warned that the declaration would, “only result in making peace and security of North-East Asia and the world be exposed to more serious danger.”

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