The ruling People Power Party on Saturday lauded the joint nuclear deterrence guidelines signed by Seoul and Washington, describing them as a potent deterrent against North Korea's provocations.

"Mutual trust between South Korea and the United States, restored under the Yoon Suk Yeol administration, has become a strong deterrent against the North Korean regime's reckless provocations," the PPP's spokesperson Ho Jun-seok said.

On Thursday (US time) in Washington, DC, the two allies adopted the "Guidelines for Nuclear Deterrence and Nuclear Operations on the Korean Peninsula," aimed at enhancing cooperation in countering evolving North Korean nuclear and missile threats. ROK stands for the Republic of Korea, South Korea's official name.

The PPP spokesperson stressed the uniqueness of the agreement, calling it "the first and only case in which a non-nuclear state directly discusses nuclear operations with the US"

He also said the statement "has chilled the North Korean regime" by explicitly outlining responses to North Korean nuclear threats, going beyond mere deterrence.

The ruling party pledged to collaborate with the Yoon administration to "create robust security through a trustworthy alliance with the US," stressing that safeguarding the lives and property of the people remains their top priority. (Yonhap)