SEOUL, Jan 2 (Reuters) – South Korea and the United States are discussing the possibility of jointly staging military exercises that include U.S. nuclear assets amid a growing threat from North Korea, the South Korean president said. Coren Yoon Suk-yeol in an interview with the Chosun Ilbo newspaper published on Monday.
These joint maneuvers, the leader added, would aim to make the implementation of the US’s “extended deterrence” more effective – a reference to the capacity of the US military, especially via its nuclear power, to deter any attack against Washington’s allies.
“Nuclear weapons belong to the United States, but preparation, information sharing, exercises and training should be carried out jointly by South Korea and the United States,” Yoon Suk-yeol said, noting that Washington was “quite positive” about the idea.
The comments come after Pyongyang launched a new ballistic missile launch for the New Year, while official North Korean media reported in the crowd that Kim Jong-un had ordered the development of new missiles and the mass production of weapons.nuclear weapons. (Reporting by Soo-hyang Choi; French version by Jean Terzian)
