Washington Declaration
- May 5, 2023
- Posted by: OptimizeIAS Team
- Category: DPN Topics
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Washington Declaration
Subject : International Relations
Section :Msc
Concept :
- South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol arrived in the U.S. to commemorate the 70th anniversary of U.S.-South Korea bilateral relations.
- A highlight of the visit was the signing of the “Washington Declaration” as a nuclear deterrence strategy.
Background
- The successful launch of North Korea’s Hwasong-8 solid-fuel intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM), a vital component for nuclear weapons delivery.
About Washington Declaration
- The agreement outlines cooperation towards deterrence.
- An American nuclear ballistic submarine would be deployed in the Korean peninsula.
- A nuclear consultative group would be formed to formulate principles of joint response tactics.
- South Korea would receive Intel from the U.S. regarding nuclear advancement.
- will strengthen South Korea’s nuclear deterrence capabilities through joint military training programs and an annual intergovernmental simulation.
- The declaration reaffirmed the non-proliferation Treaty.
How does it help US?
- The U.S. is hoping to make North Korea unarm itself by unarming South Korea.
- North Korea creates “deterrence dilemmas for the United States and its Allies and partners,” and “a crisis or conflict on the Korean Peninsula could involve a number of nuclear-armed actors, raising the risk of broader conflict.”
- Finally, the U.S. wants to control global nuclear arms production.
Challenges
- While the aim is to defuse the threat, physical deployment of the arsenal can be deemed as a direct threat by opposing actors and used as leverage to act aggressively.
- China criticised the agreement saying that it provokes confrontation between camps, undermines the nuclear non-proliferation regime and the strategic interests of other countries.
- North Korea warned that the declaration would, “only result in making peace and security of North-East Asia and the world be exposed to more serious danger.”