The United States plans to hold exercises and expand other areas of defense cooperation with South Korea, but is not considering joint nuclear exercises with Seoul, according to a senior U.S. administration official.
The US announcement came after South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol said in an interview on Monday that the United States and South Korea were in talks aimed at giving Seoul a greater role in the operation of US nuclear forces.
Yoon told the conservative newspaper Chosun Ilbo that discussions about joint planning and exercises with US nuclear forces – a process he thought would have the same effect as “nuclear sharing.”
When asked late Monday if he was discussing joint nuclear exercises with South Korea, the U.S. President Joe Biden replied, “No.” Biden, who was returning from a trip to the eastern U.S. state. of Kentucky, did not elaborate.
In a statement emailed Tuesday to VOA, a senior U.S. official tried to clarify the situation by saying the United States and South Korea “are working together to strengthen the extended deterrence, including conducting exercises above The table will examine our collective response to a range of scenarios, including the use of nuclear weapons by the DPRK.”
North Korea – also known as the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea – last year produced a record number of ballistic missiles and on Sunday vowed to “significantly increase” its production of ballistic missiles. nuclear.
North Korea’s recent actions and statements have caused “increased concern,” a U.S. official said. it added.
Both the offices of the president of the US and South Korea later denied the conflict between Biden and Yoon, noting that since South Korea is not a nuclear weapons state it will not technically participate in “joint nuclear exercises.” “
While the situation may be due to semantics, many analysts suggest that it reflects the recent conflict between the two alliances over how best to involve South Korea in the conflict. the North Korean threat.
Yoon, a conservative, previously pushed Washington and Seoul to enter into a NATO-style arrangement in which the South Koreans would be trained to use US nuclear weapons in war. . For now, it seems South Korea may have to enjoy more cooperation elsewhere.
After the November meeting between Biden and Yoon in Cambodia, both leaders instructed their teams to come up with a plan “for an effective and coordinated response to various situations, including the use of nuclear weapons by North Korea, ” said a spokesman for the White House’s National Security Council. in a statement emailed to VOA.
“As the President said, we are not talking about joint nuclear exercises,” the NSC official added.
In a statement to reporters, South Korean presidential spokeswoman Kim Eun-hye defended Yoon’s words. “South Korea and the United States are discussing information sharing, joint planning, and subsequent joint action plans regarding US nuclear weapons, in response to North Korea’s nuclear threat,” he said.
The United States has not placed nuclear weapons in South Korea since the early 1990s, when it withdrew strategic nukes from the peninsula as part of a disarmament agreement with the Soviet Union. Instead, South Korea is protected by the “nuclear umbrella” of the US, where Washington vows to use all its capabilities, including nuclear weapons, to protect its ally.
In Monday’s interview, Yoon suggested that such ideas are outdated. “What we call ‘extended deterrence’ means that the United States will take care of everything, so South Korea doesn’t have to worry about it,” Yoon said. “But now, it is difficult to convince our people with this idea alone.”
As a presidential candidate in 2021, Yoon said he would ask the United States to use nuclear weapons or agree to nuclear sharing. U.S. Department of State you quickly dropped the offer.
Many analysts are skeptical that the United States would enter into a nuclear sharing arrangement with South Korea, noting that it would run counter to Washington’s goals of global non-proliferation as well as its support for the complete denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula.
“The concerns and wishes of South Korea are understandable, but the US will not be able to negotiate nuclear projects to the extent that Seoul wants. It is still a bridge too far,” said Duyeon Kim, a Korea expert. based in Seoul. Institute for a New American Defense.
If South Korea participates in the table-top exercise, it could learn more about how the US measures its options in different crisis situations, according to Kim.
“Since joint nuclear planning is unlikely and Seoul wants a say, South Korean leaders such as the president can tell the president of the United States unilaterally whether North Korea is willing to consider plans their nuclear weapons without expecting an answer,” said Kim.
“It is conceivable that South Korean warplanes could one day practice escorting US bombers as an alternative to NATO’s ‘nuclear sharing’, but it is difficult to imagine the US doing so more than that,” he added.
Ankit Panda, a senior fellow in the Nuclear Policy Program at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace in Washington, also doubts that the United States would be open to including South Korea in the nuclear program.
“Ultimately, the decision of whether nuclear weapons should be used in a particular crisis operation will depend on the president of the United States,” Panda told VOA.
This issue has become more urgent as North Korea continues to wage war and expand its nuclear arsenal.
North Korea is now believed to have enough resources to build 50 nuclear bombs and has an increasing number of short-range and long-range weapons capable of delivering them. If Pyongyang destroys a major US city, some South Koreans fear, Washington may be reluctant to respond to a North Korean attack on the South.
Many South Koreans were also confused by the former U.S. President. Donald Trump, who has always questioned the value of the U.S.-South Korea alliance and threatened to withdraw US troops from Korea.
As a result, a growing number of prominent South Korean citizens have called for the country to find its own nuclear deterrent.
According to a survey published on Monday by Seoul-based Hankook Research, 67% of South Koreans support the country’s acquisition of nuclear weapons, including 70% of conservatives and 54% of liberals.
Lee Juhyun contributed to this report.
Where does America keep it’s nukes?
Warren Air Force Base, Wyoming; 341st Missile Wing at Malmstrom Air Force Base, Montana; and the 91st Missile Wing at Minot Air Force Base, North Dakota.
Where does the US keep its nukes? Nellis Air Force Base (Nevada) Warren Air Force Base (Colorado and Wyoming) Minot Air Force Base (North Dakota) Pantex plant (Texas) This may interest you : United States: DHS designates Ethiopia for TPS.
Does the US keep nukes in other countries?
The US also has an estimated 100 nuclear weapons stored across Europe at air bases in Belgium, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands and Turkey, according to the Center for Arms Control and Non-Proliferation.
What country has the best nuclear capability?
Who has the most nuclear weapons? Countries’ accounts of nuclear weapons vary, but the consensus is that Russia has the largest number in its stockpile, followed by the United States. Read also : Russia-Ukraine War: How to Get to the Negotiations. According to Business Insider, Russia has a stockpile of 6,850 nuclear weapons (1,600 installed, 2,750 stored and 2,500 retired).
Who is the No 1 nuclear power country? The largest producer of nuclear power is the United States with 771,638 GWh of nuclear power in 2021, followed by China with 383,205 GWh. As of August 2022, 438 reactors with a capacity of 393,333 MWe are in operation, and 57 reactors with a capacity of 58,858 MRe are under construction.
What is the strongest nuclear in the world?
Tsar Bomba (Russian: ЦаÑÑ-боÌмба) (codename: Ivan or Vanya), also known by the alphanumerical name “AN602”, was a thermonuclear air bomb, and the most powerful nuclear weapon ever designed and tested. On the same subject : Department Press Brief – October 24, 2022 – United States Department of State.
Which country has best nuclear weapons?
Russia: Like the FAS, Russia currently tops the list of countries with the most nuclear weapons. Currently, Russia has 5,977 nukes of which 1,458 are operational and 3,039 are inactive but ready for use.
How strong is China’s nuclear power?
As of September 2022, China operates a total of 53 nuclear reactors, with a total capacity of 55.6 gigawatts (GW). This was short of the original target of 58GW of installed capacity by 2020. More than 20 reactors are being built with a total of 24.2 GW.
What is China’s position on nuclear power?
Why doesn’t China build nuclear power plants?
In addition to high costs, there are other obstacles to the expansion of nuclear power in China. So far, all nuclear power plants in China are located on the coast. But only a limited number of reactors can be built on existing sites and there are limited coastal areas available for new nuclear construction.
What percentage of China’s electricity is generated by nuclear power?
By 2021, five percent of China’s electricity will be generated from nuclear power.
Who has the highest nuclear power?
The largest producer of nuclear power is the United States with 771,638 GWh of nuclear power in 2021, followed by China with 383,205 GWh.
Why Brazil does not have nuclear weapons?
In the 1970s and 1980s, during the military regime, Brazil had a secret program aimed at developing nuclear weapons. The program was dismantled in 1990, five years after the end of the military regime, and Brazil is considered to have no weapons of mass destruction.
Why does Latin America not have nuclear weapons? The main agreement for Latin America is to have nuclear weapons directly or indirectly prohibited. In view of the fact that The Kingdom of the Netherlands wishes to participate, COPERDAL members have decided to exclude countries outside the region, including those with territories in the region.
What countries are not allowed to have nuclear weapons?
Four UN member states have not ratified the NPT, three of which have or are believed to have nuclear weapons: India, Israel and Pakistan. In addition, South Sudan, which was founded in 2011, is not united.
Why Spain does not have nuclear weapons?
Like every other NATO member state, Spain is covered by the US nuclear umbrella, but unlike many others, it had started a military nuclear program before withdrawing. later. It also does not have nuclear weapons, due to strong anti-nuclear sentiment from Spanish public opinion.
