‘Deletion of the Nuclear Umbrella Clause’ - Who Lied?

Debates are raging on the truth of the South Korean government’s explanation that it requested the United States delete the clause on the joint agreement reconfirming the United States’ nuclear umbrella provision during the 37th ROK-US Security Consultative Meeting (SCM) last October.

A government official said on October 17, “During the fine-tuning process of the SCM joint agreement draft with the U.S. right after the joint statement of September 19 was selected last year during the six-party talks, there were verbal discussions to delete the nuclear umbrella expression.” Discussions were implied to be held on the deletion of the clause before negotiations began on the agreement draft in September last year.

But a number of Korean and U.S. government news sources stated that the Korean government met with U.S. government officials who are visiting Seoul for the SCM to be held on October 21 and requested the deletion of the nuclear umbrella provision during the final negotiations of the mutual draft.

A news source of the United States government stated, “A South Korean government official mentioned (the deletion of the nuclear umbrella clause) during negotiations at a hotel in Seoul on October 19 or 20.”

Officials of the National Security Council (NSC) who pursued the nuclear umbrella clause deletion also differed.

A government official that played a key role in the NSC stated in a phone interview with the Dong-A Ilbo on October 16, “We did not propose (the deletion of the nuclear umbrella clause) to the U.S. Although discussions were held, we made an internal discussion not to pursue this option.”

But the government stated in a text uploaded on the government briefing website on October 17 that “South Korea and the U.S. discussed the issue of altering certain expressions on the clauses on the nuclear umbrella provision.”

Another NSC official during the time stated in a phone interview on October 16, “we thought of (the provision on nuclear umbrella) being included in the ROK-U.S. Mutual Defense Agreement or an alternative expression such as ‘assertive response to nuclear threats’ but decided to leave the nuclear umbrella clause for lack of a better option.”

But the government official stated in the briefing on October 17, “We did not hear any mention of replacing ‘nuclear umbrella’ with another expression. Even when exchanging opinions verbally (with the U.S.) we only heard mention of its deletion rather than replacement.”

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