The U.S. reaffirmed its commitment to defending South Korea using all available means, including nuclear weapons, in a recent meeting on nuclear strategy — eliciting sharp North Korean threats of “preemptive and deadly counteraction.”

During the Nuclear Consultative Group (NCG) meeting in Washington on Friday, representatives from the two countries emphasized the group’s role in enhancing extended deterrence on the Korean Peninsula in line with the Washington Declaration signed in April, according to a joint statement released by the White House.