SENSE OF CONGRESS ON EXTENDED NUCLEAR DETERRENCE IN THE INDO-PACIFIC REGION.

SEC. 1255. SENSE OF CONGRESS ON EXTENDED NUCLEAR DETERRENCE IN THE INDO-PACIFIC REGION. It is the sense of Congress that— (1) the nuclear program of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea poses a critical national security threat not only to the United States, but to the security and stability of the entire Indo-Pacific region, including South Korea, Japan, and Australia; (2) the nuclear and conventional forces of the United States continue to play a fundamental role in deterring aggression against its interests and the interests of its allies in the Indo-Pacific region and beyond; (3) the United States stands unwaveringly behind its treaty obligations and assurances, including those related to defense and extended nuclear deterrence, to South Korea, Japan, and Australia; (4) the complete, verifiable, and irreversible denuclearization of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea remains a central foreign policy objective of the United States; (5) the status of any denuclearization or end-of-conflict agreement with the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea should not supersede such treaty obligations and assurances described in paragraph (3); and (6) the presence of United States Forces on the Korean Peninsula should remain strong and enduring.