SKorea presses US for firmer pledge of nuclear defense

0 Comments | AFP, October, 2006

WASHINGTON (AFP) — South Korea pressed Washington for a more detailed pledge of US nuclear protection in case of North Korean attack but was rebuffed by the US side in annual defense talks here. The United States reaffirmed its long-standing pledge to extend its nuclear umbrella over South Korea but US Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld said it would not go beyond the language it has used in past years.

"The United States reaffirms its firm commitment to the Republic of Korea, including continuation of the extended deterrents offered by the US nuclear umbrella, consistent with the mutual defense treaty," he said. The US commitment "is as solid today as it was when it was first stated" in 1978 under the military alliance, Rumsfeld said at a news conference with South Korean...