A senior U.S. diplomat said Tuesday that Seoul and Washington would consider exploring additional scenarios of North Korean nuclear threats in future sessions of the Extended Deterrence Strategy and Consultation Group (EDSCG), the allies' key deterrence dialogue body. Last week in Washington, Under Secretary of State for Arms Control and International Security Bonnie Jenkins participated in the latest EDSCG session, where participants had their first discussions based on North Korean nuclear threat scenarios to explore effective diplomatic and defense measures to counter such threats. Jenkins, who is in Seoul to attend an international forum on the responsible military use of artificial intelligence (AI), noted that both sides appreciated the scenario-based discussions. "I can't go into the details of the actual scenarios, but what I can say is that both the U.S. and the ROK recognize the value of these exercises. We may consider doing more in the future," she said on the sidelines of the second summit on Responsible Artificial Intelligence in the Military Domain (REAIM), held at a hotel in Seoul. ROK stands for the official name of South Korea. Jenkins emphasized the U.S. "ironclad" security commitment to Seoul, responding to questions about the possibility of another North Korean nuclear test. "I think the important thing is that we continue to make it very clear that our commitment to the ROK remains ironclad," she said. At last week's EDSCG meeting, South Korea and the U.S. said they are not ruling out the possibility of North Korea conducting major provocations, like a nuclear test and an intercontinental ballistic missile launch, near the U.S. presidential election in November. At the inaugural REAIM summit in The Hague in February of last year, 55 states endorsed a final declaration outlining nine specific principles for the responsible development, deployment, and use of AI in armed forces. Jenkins highlighted the increasing global interest in military AI, noting that the number of participants e ndorsing the declaration "is an indication of the international community's real interest in AI and the military." "AI has many positive applications, such as assisting with decision-making and reducing casualties," she said. The second summit is expected to conclude with a new declaration titled "Blueprint for Action," to be released later in the day. Jenkins further expressed hope that more stakeholders, including additional countries, would participate in ongoing efforts by the U.S. to operationalize these principle at the working level. "What we're doing now is not only having working groups start implementing actions on these three topics, but we're also continuing to engage with countries to bring more participants on board," she said, referring to the three topics -- accountability, oversight and assurance. Source: Yonhap News Agency
