President Yoon Suk Yeol vowed Tuesday to strengthen national security through "peace by overwhelming power," not a "fake peace" relying on another party's good will.
Yoon made the promise during a Cabinet meeting held two days after his return from the United States, where he held a summit with U.S. President Joe Biden and agreed on measures to strengthen the U.S. extended deterrence commitment to defend South Korea with all of its military capabilities, including nuclear weapons.
"I will build a strong security that allows our future generations to nurture their dreams at ease, through peace by overwhelming power, not a fake peace that relies on the other side's good will," Yoon said during the meeting at the presidential office, apparently criticizing his predecessor Moon Jae-in's policy of engagement with North Korea.
During their summit, Yoon and Biden adopted the Washington Declaration, under which the allies agreed to establish a Nuclear Consultative Group (NCG) to share information on nuclear operations and planning, and regularly deploy U.S. strategic assets, such as a nuclear ballistic missile submarine, to the Korean Peninsula.
"The Washington Declaration specifies extended deterrence measures agreed upon by the leaders of South Korea and the U.S., and contains execution plans for a South Korean model of extended deterrence," Yoon said at the Cabinet meeting.
"It's important to properly flesh out the Washington Declaration in the process of information sharing, joint planning and joint execution with respect to the operation of U.S. nuclear assets," he added.
Yoon also said the U.S.' powerful strategic assets will be regularly deployed near South Korea, allowing it to maintain an "overwhelming punishment posture," and that the NCG could be considered more effective than NATO's Nuclear Planning Group in that South Korea and the U.S. will have discussions more frequently and more deeply on a one-on-one basis.
Source: Yonhap News Agency