U.S. Defense Department "Korea-U.S. Nuclear Umbrella Strengthening Meeting, Development Exercise Postponed indefinitely."

In the aftermath of South Korea's lifting of martial law declaration, meetings and exercises on strengthening nuclear deterrence against North Korea, which were originally agreed to be held from the 4th local time, have been postponed.

A spokesman for the U.S. Department of Defense said on the 3rd that the 4th Korea-U.S. Nuclear Consultative Group, NCG Meeting, and the 1st NCG Development Exercise (TTX), which South Korea and the U.S. are scheduled to hold in Washington, D.C. from the 4th to the 5th, have been postponed.

"It will be postponed until further notice," he said. "There is no information about setting a new schedule at this time."

NCG, which was agreed upon during President Yoon Suk Yeol's state visit to the U.S. in April last year, is a consultative body between South Korea and the U.S. to strengthen the implementation power of extended deterrence, and was officially launched in July last year after the first meeting in Seoul.

At the fourth NCG meeting, South Korea and the U.S. were scheduled to review progress in NCG tasks such as nuclear consultations and strategic communication in case of crisis, establishment of a dedicated security communication system, and nuclear and strategic planning.

With the Trump administration scheduled to be launched on January 20 next year, the NCG meeting has been considered an opportunity to summarize the achievements of strengthening the nuclear deterrence between South Korea and the U.S. under the Biden administration.

A Pentagon spokesman did not specifically mention the reason for the delay, but analysts say the sudden indefinite postponement a day before the event is not irrelevant to the impact of martial law in South Korea.