The United States is not discussing joint nuclear exercises with South Korea, US President Joe Biden said on Monday, contradicting remarks by his South Korean counterpart.
"No," Biden said when asked by reporters at the White House if he was currently discussing joint nuclear exercises with South Korea. He had just returned from a vacation in the U.S. Virgin Islands, where he was accompanied by his national security adviser, Jake Sullivan.
The Chosun Ilbo newspaper quoted Yoon as saying the joint planning and exercises would be aimed at a more effective implementation of the U.S. "extended deterrence" and that Washington was also "quite positive" about the idea.
After Biden’s comments created a brief stir in South Korea, Yoon’s top adviser for press affairs, Kim Eun-hye, issued a statement Tuesday to reconfirm Yoon’s earlier remarks.
Kim Eun-hyesaid Biden likely answered "no" because a reporter tersely asked him about nuclear exercises without providing any background information. Joint nuclear exercise is a term used between nuclear powers.
Some observers say Yoon’s comments to the Chosun Ilbo newspaper didn’t reveal much new development on the issue. Yoon’s office didn’t provide many details about his government’s discussion with the United States. South Korea has no nuclear weapons and is under the protection of a U.S. “nuclear umbrella,” which guarantees a devastating American response in the event of an attack on its ally. But some experts question the effectiveness of such a security commitment, saying the decision to use U.S. nuclear weapons lies with the U.S. president.
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