The White House said that while defense authorities will now lead a nuclear deterrence consultation body between South Korea and the United States, the U.S. National Security Council(NSC) remains "fundamentally engaged" in the body.

National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan made the remarks on Wednesday during a press briefing in response to a question about the change in the organizations leading the Nuclear Consultative Group(NCG).

Sullivan said that the NSC remains fundamentally engaged in the NCG and this is an “interagency process.”

He said that the creation of the NCG was ordered by the leaders of the two nations in the Washington Declaration during a summit in April last year, adding the declaration remains a high priority for all involved. 

Sullivan added that the U.S. believes the NCG is enhancing security in the U.S.-South Korea alliance, so it will continue to be proud of the work of NCG.

Earlier this week, the defense authorities of the two nations signed a document on the framework of the NCG, which stipulated that future consultations will be led by them. 

Accordingly, the third meeting of the NCG set for June in Seoul will be led by the two defense authorities, although the inaugural and second sessions were led by the NSCs of the two nations.