Following President Joe Biden’s denial that the allies were discussing joint nuclear exercises, South Korea has maintained that Seoul and Washington are discussing its involvement in US nuclear weapons management.
Yoon Suk-yeol, the president of South Korea, said in an interview with a newspaper that was published on Monday that Seoul and Washington were pushing for joint planning and training with US nuclear assets and that the US was open to the idea.
Biden responded, “No,” when a reporter later questioned him at the White House about whether the two nations were discussing joint nuclear exercises.
Kim Eun-hye, Yoon’s top adviser for press affairs, issued a statement on Tuesday to confirm Yoon’s earlier remarks after Biden’s remarks caused a brief stir in South Korea.
“We are discussing intel-sharing, joint planning, and subsequent joint execution plans over the management of US nuclear assets in response to North Korea’s nuclear (threats),” Kim stated.
Biden and Yoon have “tasked their teams to plan for an effective coordinated response to a range of scenarios, including nuclear use by North Korea,” according to a statement released on Tuesday by the White House National Security Council.
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US nuclear umbrella
According to some experts, South Korea’s statement regarding the discussion is probably largely based on an agreement that their defense chiefs made in November to hold annual tabletop exercises, typically computer simulations, to strengthen the alliance’s information sharing and joint planning and execution.
They also reiterated the United States’ commitment to providing extended deterrence in November, referring to the United States’ pledge to use all of its capabilities, including nuclear, to defend its allies.
According to a senior official from the Biden administration, table-top exercises between US and South Korean officials are anticipated to take place soon to plan a possible joint response to a variety of scenarios, including the North’s deployment of a nuclear weapon. To discuss planning, the official spoke on condition of anonymity.
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South Korea is protected by a “nuclear umbrella” from the United States, which ensures a devastating American response in the event of an attack on its ally. South Korea does not have any nuclear weapons.
More than 70 ballistic and other missiles capable of reaching the U.S. mainland, as well as its allies South Korea and Japan, were tested launched by North Korea last year.
A new law allowing the preemptive use of its bombs in a wide range of situations, including non-war scenarios, was also approved by North Korea in September.
Kim Jong-un, the leader of North Korea, gave orders for the “exponential” expansion of his country’s nuclear arsenal, the mass production of tactical nuclear weapons with the intention of attacking South Korea, and the creation of a new intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) with the capability of “quick nuclear counterstrike,” which is a weapon he needs to strike the mainland.
Source: AFP