China fears a South Korea-US nuclear pact to rein in Pyongyang: ex-Obama adviser

The comments by Gary Samore come after the US and South Korea discussed enhancing nuclear deterrence to counter threats from the North

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The nuclear-powered USS Ronald Reagan aircraft carrier and the nuclear-powered USS Annapolis submarine during a South Korea-US-Japan exercise in waters off the Korean peninsula. Photo: AFP

Published: 10:00am, 4 Jul 2024

The threat of the United States and South Korea agreeing to a Nato-style nuclear sharing arrangement could be used to pressure China to restrain North Korea from taking provocative actions, a leading US analyst said.

Gary Samore, a nuclear arms control expert at Brandeis University, said during a seminar in Seoul on Tuesday that recent steps taken by Washington and Seoul showed such an arrangement could become a reality.

In the face of growing North Korea’s missile threat, US President Joe Biden and South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol in April 2023 issued the “Washington Declaration”, aimed at bolstering nuclear deterrence and response capabilities on the Korean peninsula.

Following the declaration, Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin and his Korean counterpart Shin Won-sik announced a “revised Tailored Deterrence Strategy” in November 2023 involving more joint exercises including deployment of US strategic assets such as nuclear-capable aircraft and submarines.

A major part of the strategy was the “temporary” deployment of US nuclear delivery systems to the South for exercises and the two allies’ integration of conventional and nuclear capabilities, Samore said.

This would involve planning and exercises to combine conventional South Korean forces with US nuclear operations, such as South Korean fighter aircraft escorts to accompany US strategic bombers in Korean airspace, he added.