The inaugural meeting of the Nuclear Consultative Group (NCG) between South Korea and the United States will again show how serious the U.S. is about its commitment to providing extended deterrence to South Korea, National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan said Friday.
Sullivan reiterated that it will be an "important meeting."
"It will be an important meeting. There will be a high level of participation by the United States because this is an important issue on which we place priority," he told a press briefing at the White House, adding he spoke with his South Korean counterpart to "discuss preparations for that meeting" the night before.
South Korean officials said earlier this week that the first meeting of the NCG will be held in Seoul later this month. Seoul presidential office announced on Saturday (Korea time) that the meeting will be held on July 18, involving Principal Deputy National Security Adviser Kim Tae-hyo and U.S. National Security Council Coordinator for Indo-Pacific Affairs Kurt Campbell.
The NCG was established during a summit between President Yoon Suk Yeol and U.S. President Joe Biden in April to strengthen U.S. extended deterrence, which refers to U.S. commitment to defending South Korea with all of its military capabilities, including nuclear weapons.
"The Nuclear Consultative Group is a specific outcome of the Washington summit between President Yoon, President Biden and outcome of the historic Washington Declaration," Sullivan said, referring to the summit agreement signed by the leaders.
"And you will see in this meeting that we are quite serious about taking this effort forward," he added.
When asked about controversy over a recently published report by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) on Japan's plan to discharge treated water from the country's damaged nuclear power plant in Fukushima, the White House official said the report is based on the "professional analysis of the competent international institution."
"I would also say that the ROK government made its own statements and reactions to that, which we thought were quite constructive," he added, referring to South Korea by its official name, the Republic of Korea.
The IAEA report gave the green light to Japan's planned water discharge, saying it will only have a "negligible" impact on people and the environment.
Those who oppose the Japanese plan argue the IAEA may have failed to verify the potential long-term environmental impact of releasing treated radioactive water into the ocean.
Seoul on Friday said the planned release of treated water would meet international standards if carried out as planned.
Source: Yonhap News Agency