The first U.S. National Defense Strategy (NDS) since Donald Trump’s return to office has omitted mention of North Korean denuclearization, while placing the onus on South Korea to deter threats from Pyongyang.

The strategy document, released by the Pentagon on Friday, acknowledges that North Korea poses a direct military threat not only to South Korea and Japan — both U.S. treaty allies — but increasingly to the mainland U.S. itself. 

North Korean nuclear forces “are growing in size and sophistication, and they present a clear and present danger of nuclear attack on the American Homeland,” the document states.

While