The United States and South Korea agreed to deepen coordination on nuclear and conventional deterrence during a meeting of the bilateral Nuclear Consultative Group (NCG) in Washington, D.C, on Thursday, but omitted mentioning North Korea in the group’s joint statement for the first time.

The NCG’s fifth session, held 11 months after the last meeting on Jan. 10, marked the first such consultation under the administrations of South Korean President Lee Jae Myung and U.S. President Donald Trump, who both took office in the first half of this year. 

The NCG, created from the April 2023Washington Declaration, is the