Controversy Surrounding U.S. Nuclear Umbrella

It was disclosed on October 16 that the Korean government had suggested to its U.S. counterpart not to include the nuclear umbrella guarantee in their joint statement at the 37th Security Consultative Meeting held in October 2005, but which was rejected by the U.S.

The fact is likely to cause controversy in that the government tried to refuse the U.S. nuclear shield even after North Korea declared it had nuclear weapons in February 2005.

It is believed that the government demanded this because it had decided to accept the notion of a “denuclearized Korean peninsula,” which North Korea suggested when the 9/19 joint statement was issued at the sixth round of the six-party talks held in September 2005.

According to several sources from both Korea and the U.S., the Korean government suggested to delete the clause that stated for the U.S. to provide a nuclear umbrella to South Korea in the joint statement issued by Korean and U.S. defense ministers in order to alleviate military tension between South and North Korea and to persuade the North to return to the negotiating table.

According to the source in Washington, at the time, some Korean government officials said, “The U.S. will provide South Korea with a nuclear umbrella in the event of a crisis anyways. So let’s delete the clause in the statement to soothe the North’s resistance.”

However, other officials reportedly opposed the proposal, saying, “The deletion could send a wrong message to the North and seriously affect the security environment.” Korean government officials had mixed opinions until the final day of the SCM, and they concluded to suggest the deletion to the U.S.

When the Korean government proposed this at the working level meeting of the SCM, its American counterparts felt uncomfortable and embarrassed and asked to adjourn the meeting. Also, a Washington source said that they hinted of opposing the suggestion by answering that they didn’t want to issue a joint statement.

ditto@donga.com