By Song Sang-ho
WASHINGTON, Aug. 1 (Yonhap) -- The Nuclear Consultative Group (NCG), a key deterrence body between South Korea and the United States, is the "best solution" to address North Korean threats, a senior Pentagon official said Thursday, amid lingering questions over whether Seoul should consider its own nuclear option in the face of a recalcitrant Pyongyang.
Vipin Narang, the acting assistant secretary of defense for space policy, made the remarks, cautioning against the idea of South Korea going nuclear -- a process that he said would be "costly," take time and make South Korea potentially "vulnerable."
As Pyongyang has been doubling down on its nuclear and missile programs in the absence of any meaningful diplomacy to curb its growing threats, doubts have lingered over whether the NCG is sufficient to reassure the South Korean public and whether Seoul should pursue stronger measures.
"I believe and I think the U.S. government position is that the NCG is both South Korea's and our best solution to the security predicament that South Korea finds with ... security challenges South Korea faces on the peninsula," he said during a forum hosted by the Center for Strategic and International Studies.
Seoul and Washington launched the NCG last July in line with the Washington Declaration that President Yoon Suk Yeol and U.S. President Joe Biden issued at their summit last April to strengthen the credibility of America's "extended deterrence" commitment to using the full range of its capabilities, including nuclear, to defend its ally.
Narang called the NCG a "real upgrade" in the allies' deterrence efforts, while showing the U.S.' opposition to the idea of South Korea going nuclear.
"I think it's in South Korea's interests to be an equal partner in our extended deterrence relationship rather than pursue its own nuclear weapons, which would be costly, take time and also, you know, make South Korea potentially vulnerable as it is pursuing nuclear weapons," he said.
The official called attention to the allies' recent signing of nuclear deterrence guidelines that he said "institutionalizes" the security body in a way that allows South Korea to have "equal" input into the nuclear consultative process.
He also underscored the U.S.' commitment to mobilizing its nuclear military assets for South Korea if need be.
"We've committed that ... our nuclear forces (will) always be available for the defense of South Korea against a strategic attack from North Korea," he said. "I think we've really elevated this dialogue to enhance the security of both South Korea and the United States and provide a credible deterrent against North Korea."
In his opening speech at the forum, Narang emphasized the need not to "sleep on" North Korean threats in the midst of greater nuclear security challenges from Russia and China.
"We can't sleep on North Korea, which also continues to expand, diversify and improve its nuclear ballistic missile and non-nuclear capabilities," he said.
"While not a major-power rival like the PRC and Russia, North Korea's continued improvement and diversification of its nuclear and ballistic missile capabilities present deterrence dilemmas for the United States and regional allies," he added, referring to China by its official name, the People's Republic of China.
He put the security situation on the Korean Peninsula in a broader regional and global context.
"Conflict on the Korean Peninsula risk escalation and involvement of multiple regional nuclear armed actors. What's more, the growing DPRK-Russia strategic partnership ... is concerning and illustrates the real possibility of collaboration and even collusion between our nuclear-armed adversaries," he said.
"These developments occur even though the Biden administration has consistently reached out to the DPRK to offer talks with no conditions in an effort to seek a diplomatic resolution to Pyongyang's advancing nuclear arsenal. Those calls have gone unanswered."
DPRK stands for the North's official name, the Democratic People's Republic of Korea.
The official repeated the U.S.' position that absent a change in the nuclear threat trajectories of China, Russia and North Korea, Washington may reach a point where "a change in the size and posture" of its current deployed forces is "necessary."
"There is no need to grow the stockpile yet, but adjustments to the number of deployed capabilities may be necessary if our adversaries continue down the current paths," he said.
sshluck@yna.co.kr
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