U.S. and China shift focus, leaving Seoul uneasy

North Korea’s denuclearization has vanished from the latest security strategy documents released in quick succession by the United States and China. The U.S. National Security Strategy, published on Dec. 4, lists defending the U.S. mainland and Taiwan and deterring China as top priorities. Yet the report omits not only the phrase “denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula” but also any mention of North Korea, despite the issue’s direct relevance to South Korea’s national security.

The NSS, the United States’ highest-level foreign and security policy directive, acts as a compass guiding the president’s decisions throughout a four-year term. A section on denuclearization, previously included without fail during former President Joe Biden’s administration and President Donald Trump’s first term, has now been removed. The change comes as President Trump has repeatedly used language that appears to recognize North Korea as a nuclear state. The omission is a troubling sign that the long-standing goal of North Korea’s denuclearization, upheld by the South Korea–U.S. alliance for more than three decades, may be losing momentum.

The omission of “denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula” from China’s official documents has raised similar concerns. China, long a key partner alongside the United States in efforts to address the North Korean nuclear issue, now appears increasingly willing to tolerate Pyongyang’s nuclear status. In announcing the results of the North Korea–China summit in September, Beijing left out language on denuclearization that had been included in each of the previous four summits. Since March of last year, the term has not appeared in any of China’s official external statements.

Meanwhile, attention has focused on President Trump’s growing impatience as he seeks a surprise meeting with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un. After his overture at the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit in Gyeongju in October failed, and with an April visit to China already scheduled, he appears likely to push once more for a North Korea–U.S. summit around that time. Experts warn, however, that the United States must prevent a scenario in which President Trump agrees to North Korea’s demand for recognition as a nuclear state solely to secure a meeting without meaningful discussion on denuclearization.

Waiting passively for a North Korea–U.S. meeting without close coordination with Washington would put South Korea’s security in a state of serious uncertainty. Seo Hoon, director of the National Security Office, said on Dec. 7 that the government will “push for the resumption of dialogue with North Korea next year and begin in earnest a process for coexistence on the Korean Peninsula,” but emphasized that close communication with the United States remains critical.

If the United States, whose top priority is homeland security, leans toward arms control talks focused on dismantling North Korea’s long-range missiles, and China tacitly supports that approach, South Korea, living directly under the threat of North Korea’s nuclear arsenal, would bear the greatest risk. For that reason, South Korea cannot afford to be a bystander in nuclear negotiations, even as it seeks to act as a peacemaker.