A Korea-Japan Nuclear Weapon Free Zone has implications for the US assurance of extended nuclear deterrence to Japan and Korea. At the very least a nuclear weapon free zone would require the United States to commit to not firing nuclear weapons out of the NWFZ. A nuclear weapon free zone in North-East Asia could shift the focus of US deterrence away from nuclear weapons and towards the reliance on the conventional forces already deployed in the region.
Supporting Materials: South Korea
Domestic Debates and Assessment of Extended Deterrence in South Korea: A South Korean Perspective
Choi, J. K.,East Asia Nuclear Security Workshop, Tokyo, Japan (November 2011)
The 38th Security Consultative Meeting Joint Communiqué, October 20, 2006, Washington D.C
[Summary: Secretary Rumsfeld offered assurances of firm U.S. commitment and immediate support to the ROK, including continuation of the extended deterrence offered by the U.S. nuclear umbrella, consistent with the Mutual Defense Treaty.]
Extended deterrence for S. Korea admits North Korea’s de facto status as a nuclear state
Hankyoreh, 18 June 2009
The US Nuclear Umbrella Over South Korea
Hans Kristensen, Federation of American Scientists
Two Tracks to Peace and Security in Northeast Asia
James E. Goodby, former US Ambassador and Special Representative for Nuclear Security and Dismantlement and Markku Heiskanen, former Finnish diplomat, Senior Associate of the Asia Institute in Daejeon, South Korea
[Summary: the authors suggest a North-East Asia Energy Development Organization be formed to provide multilateral “nuclear fuel services” if the DPRK “re-commits to the Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT)” and confirms the “dismantling of its nuclear weapons program.” And that the ROK and DPRK “start negotiations… to define definitively the frontiers between the two states” and eventually establish a peace treaty between the two Korean states.]
Re-Aligning the Military and Political Dimensions Of the ROK-US Alliance: The Possibilities
Patrick Morgan, International Journal of Korean Studies, Fall 2007, Vol. XI, No. 2
USFK Chief Pledges Shield Against NK Missiles
Jung Sung-ki, Korea Times, 29 June 2009
US Nuclear Umbrella: Double-Edged Sword for S. Korea
Jung Sung-ki, Korea Times, 24 June 2009
Withdrawal of US Nuclear Weapons from Korean Peninsula ( FOIA )
U.S. Pacific Command (CINCPAC), 1992.
Doves Say S.Korea, US Corner NK
Korea Times, 19 June 2009
US Nuclear Weapons and Korean Security
Willis Stanley, National Institute for Public Policy, 2003.