SEOUL/WASHINGTON, Jan 3 (Reuters) – South Korea and the United States are discussing launching a table-top exercise and joint planning to counter North Korea’s growing nuclear threat, officials from both sides said on Tuesday.
The plan comes amid pressure from South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol to strengthen America’s extended deterrence — the US military capability, particularly its nuclear forces, to deter attacks against its allies — since he took office in May in the face of growing threats from North Korea.
In a newspaper interview published on Monday, Yoon said the allies were discussing joint nuclear planning and nuclear drills, which would help dispel doubts about the expanded deterrence as its existing concept “fails to convince” the South Koreans.
“To respond to North Korea’s nuclear weapons, the two countries are discussing ways to share information on the operation of US-owned nuclear assets and their joint planning and execution,” said Kim Eun-hye, Yoon’s press secretary. said in a statement.
The two leaders “charged their teams to plan an effective and coordinated response to a variety of scenarios, including North Korea’s nuclear use, and that’s what the teams are working on,” White House spokeswoman Karine Jean-Pierre said.
A senior US administration official elaborated, adding that the two sides are considering enhanced information sharing, joint contingency planning and a possible table-top exercise following a request by their presidents after a meeting in Cambodia in November to explore ways to deal with threats from North Korea.
But the official noted that regular nuclear drills would be “extremely difficult” because South Korea is not a nuclear power, echoing US President Joe Biden’s comments late Monday that allies had not discussed such action. US policy does not allow for joint control of nuclear assets anywhere in the world.
“This will be done in a variety of ways, including, as President Yoon said, enhanced information sharing, joint planning and expanding the range of contingencies that we plan for, as well as through training, and this idea that will eventually lead to a tabletop exercise,” a US official told Reuters.
The timing of the planned drills has not been finalized, but they will take place “in the not-too-distant future” and cover scenarios including, but not limited to, nuclear situations, the official said.
“The idea is also to try and make sure that we can fully think through all the options based on the DPRK’s capabilities that they have demonstrated and also their statements,” the official added, using North Korea’s official name. , Democratic People‘s Republic of Korea.
When asked about the tabletop exercises, a spokesman for South Korea’s defense ministry said talks were ongoing but declined to give details.
The two countries have revived consultations on extended deterrence this year after a years-long hiatus, while North Korea boosted its nuclear and missile capabilities.
Pyongyang has described South Korea as an “unquestionable enemy” and vowed to boost its nuclear arsenal this year after firing a record number of missiles in 2022 and fueling tensions by sending drones into the South in December.
“US countermeasures have not kept pace with the Nordic nuclear programs, and the extended deterrence strategy is almost no different from when their nuclear capabilities were insignificant and weaker,” said Go Myong-hyun, a researcher at the Asan Policy Institute. Studies in Seoul.
But Kim Dong-yup, a professor at Kyungnam University, said the comment by Biden, who has the exclusive right to authorize the use of US nuclear weapons, indicated Americans’ reluctance to share nuclear operations, given their sensitivity and security concerns.
“Given the growing voice against tactical nuclear weapons, Washington may try to make assurances and send more nuclear weapons than we want, but they are unlikely to fully realize President Yoon’s aspirations for greater deterrence,” Kim said.
Reporting by Soo-hyang Choi and Hyonhee Shin in Seoul and Trevor Hunnicutt in Washington; Additional reporting by Simon Lewis and David Brunnstrom in Washington; Edited by Gerry Doyle and Stephen Coates
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