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U.S. President Joe Biden and President Yoon Suk-yeol look at each other during their joint press conference at South Korea's presidential office in Yongsan District, Seoul, Saturday. Yonhap

Two leaders pledge to deepen alliance in economic security, supply chains, nuclear energy

By Nam Hyun-woo

President Yoon Suk-yeol and U.S. President Joe Biden agreed to expand the scope and scale of Korea-U.S. joint military exercises to thwart any evolving threat posed by North Korea during their first summit held in Seoul, Saturday.

In addition to discussing security on the Korean Peninsula, the two leaders also agreed to develop the bilateral relationship into a "global comprehensive strategic alliance" by broadening and deepening cooperation in the areas of economic security, global supply chains, nuclear energy and cyber space in a joint statement released after their summit.

"President Biden and I agreed that the sophistication of North Korea's military capabilities, such as missiles and its nuclear program, have posed grave concerns to the security of our two countries," Yoon said during a joint press conference at the presidential office following the summit.

"In response, President Biden reemphasized his commitment to the U.S. government's extended deterrence commitment to South Korea," Yoon added. "In detail, we agreed to begin discussions on expanding our joint military exercises, which are key to our combined defense capability, and to coordinate with each other on deploying U.S. strategic assets and additional measures."

Extended deterrence refers to the ability of U.S. military forces to deter nuclear threats against its allies.

Yoon made the remarks amid North Korea's escalating missile and nuclear weapons threats. Recently, multiple reports suggest that North Korea is ready for a nuclear test and may soon launch intercontinental ballistic missiles.

The South Korean leader added that he and Biden have discussed action plans for extended deterrence and the deployment of strategic assets including "fighter jets and missiles," and each countries' national security councils will continue consulting with each other regarding this issue. Though Yoon did not elaborate about strategic assets, watchers expect the deployment of long-range bombers such as the B-52H, the B-1B and the B-2 could be included.

"In order to prepare ourselves for a possible nuclear attack from North Korea, there have been discussions that our two countries' combined military exercise should be carried out in various ways," Yoon said.

During the summit, the two leaders agreed to reactivate the high-level Extended Deterrence Strategy and Consultation Group (EDSCG) at the earliest possible date. The EDSCG is a high-level consultative mechanism created to achieve the denuclearization of North Korea through steadfast deterrence, which last met in January 2018.

National Security Adviser Kim Sung-han said officials of the two countries will be able to determine what kinds of measures are necessary to prevent North Korea's provocations once they convene the EDSCG.

"It has been inactive for a while, so officials of the two countries had insufficient discussion about possible measures," Kim told reporters after the press conference. "So once it's reactivated and the two sides sit down again for discussions, we will be able to figure out what measures should be taken to deter North Korea."

Door remains open for dialogue

Yoon said the door for dialogue is always open for North Korea.