First meeting of NCG to be held in Seoul this month, involving senior officials: presidential office

The inaugural meeting of the new Nuclear Consultative Group between South Korea and the United States will be held later this month in Seoul, Seoul's presidential office said Saturday.

The meeting will be held July 18, co-chaired by South Korea's Principal Deputy National Security Adviser Kim Tae-hyo and US National Security Council Coordinator for Indo-Pacific Affairs Kurt Campbell.

The meeting will "discuss information sharing, consultation mechanism and joint planning and execution designed to bolster nuclear deterrence against North Korea," the presidential office said in a press release.

President Yoon Suk Yeol and US President Joe Biden agreed to establish the new NCG during their bilateral summit in Washington in April.

The group is designed to reaffirm U.S. extended deterrence provided to South Korea, which refers to US commitment to defending its ally using all its military capabilities, including nuclear.

The allies had initially planned to appoint deputy minister-level officials to lead the talks but decided to elevate the rank of the chief delegate to the vice minister level for the first session, according to officials in Seoul.

US officials have said the NCG will allow Seoul's input for the first time into how the US plans or executes its nuclear deterrence against North Korean threats.

US National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan earlier said the inaugural meeting of the NCG will be an "important meeting."

"And you will see in this meeting that we are quite serious about taking this effort forward," he told a White House press briefing on Friday (US time).