A senior U.S. official said Friday that President Joe Biden, during his summit next week with South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol, will pledge “substantial” steps to underscore the U.S. commitment to deter North Korean nuclear attacks on South Korea.

The unidentified official told Reuters that the U.S. is working extraordinarily and intensively with South Korea to take necessary steps to buttress both public perception and the reality of its commitments.

The official said they ranked as one of the greatest U.S. achievements the fact that a number of Indo-Pacific countries which could have built nuclear weapons had opted otherwise because of the protection of the so-called U.S. nuclear umbrella.
He further said that Washington has been very clear that its commitment to that nuclear deterrent stands and is ironclad for South Korea.

The source said that President Biden will be taking substantial steps to underscore that fact, to update it and make clear that everyone has little doubt of U.S. commitment to standing with South Korea, even in the face of provocation from North Korea, saber rattling from Russia, and ambitions for a nuclear buildup on the part of China.

A second official said the U.S. welcomed South Korea's support for Ukraine so far and would “welcome additional steps it might be willing to take” but that it also recognizes every country has to make those decisions based on their own deliberations.

The official added that North Korea’s human rights situation, a key focus for President Yoon, will likely be among the summit agenda.

The first official said the summit, only the second state visit under the Biden administration, reflected Biden’s appreciation of Yoon’s strong leadership and his rapprochement with Japan, and Biden will also commend huge South Korean tech investment in the U.S. since he took office, which was now approaching 100 million dollars. 

Yoon will make a seven-day state visit to the U.S. from Monday, the first for a South Korean leader in 12 years.