SEOUL, South Korea (NEWSnet/AP) — The U.S. and South Korea have signed nuclear deterrence guidelines, considered a step in their joint efforts to respond to North Korea’s evolving nuclear threats.

Meeting Thursday on the sidelines of NATO’s summit in Washington, President Joe Biden and South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol commended what they called “the tremendous progress” that their countries’ alliance has made a year after creating a joint Nuclear Consultative Group.

This is the first such action between the two countries.

The two leaders authorized “the U.S.-ROK Guidelines for Nuclear Deterrence and Nuclear Operations on the Korean Peninsula,” which were signed by defense officials Thursday, according to South Korea’s presidential office. ROK stands for South Korea’s official name of the Republic of Korea.

The U.S. and South Korea created the consultative body last year to strengthen communication on nuclear operations and discuss how to integrate U.S. nuclear weapons and South Korean conventional weapons in various contingencies. The U.S. has long promised to use all its capabilities, including nuclear weapons, to defend South Korea if it is attacked, but faced suspicions that it lacks plans on how it would exercise its extended deterrence for its Asian ally.

In the meantime, North Korea has sharply accelerated its missile testing activities and openly threatened to use nuclear weapons preemptively in potential conflicts with its rivals.

South Korea has no nuclear weapons.

Specifics of the guidelines, which Seoul called confidential, were not available, though the U.S. will certainly retain control of its nuclear weapons.

“The key is how to integrate South Korea’s conventional weapons and America’s nuclear weapons to launch joint, massive retaliation to North Korea, when it carries out nuclear strikes on South Korea,” said Kim Yeol Soo, an expert at South Korea’s Korea Institute for Military Affairs.

He said prospects for South Korea-U.S. coordination are bright if Biden is re-elected in the November election, but could suffer a setback if former President Donald Trump returns to the White House.

North Korea is expected to respond angrily to the announcement, as it has previously accused its rivals of using the consultation group to plot a nuclear attack on the North.

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