South Korea and the United States are discussing joint planning and implementation of U.S. nuclear operations to counter North Korea and hope to conduct a tabletop train quickly, officers from each side mentioned Tuesday.
The plan got here amid South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol’s push to strengthen American prolonged deterrence – the U.S. navy functionality, particularly its nuclear forces, to discourage assaults on its allies – since taking workplace in May, within the face of evolving North Korean threats.
In a newspaper interview launched Monday, Yoon mentioned the allies are discussing joint nuclear planning and workouts and that may assist clear doubts concerning the prolonged deterrence, with its current idea “falling short of convincing” South Koreans.
“In order to respond to the North Korean nuclear weapons, the two countries are discussing ways to share information on the operation of U.S.-owned nuclear assets, and joint planning and execution of them accordingly,” Yoon’s press secretary, Kim Eun-hye, mentioned in a press release.
A senior U.S. administration official mentioned each side are enhanced data sharing, joint contingency planning and an eventual tabletop train following a request from their presidents after a gathering in Cambodia in November to discover methods to handle North Korea’s threats.
But the official famous common nuclear workouts could be “extremely difficult” as a result of South Korea just isn’t a nuclear energy, echoing the remark from U.S. President Joe Biden that the allies weren’t discussing such actions.
“This is going to be done through a variety of ways, including as President Yoon said, through enhanced information sharing, joint planning and expanding the range of contingencies that we plan for, as well as training, and with the idea eventually leading up to a tabletop exercise,” the official instructed Reuters.
The timing of the deliberate tabletop workouts has not been finalized, however they’d happen “in the not-too-distant future” and canopy situations together with nuclear conditions, the official mentioned.
“The idea is to also try and make sure that we’re able to fully think through the range of possibilities based on the DPRK capabilities which they’ve demonstrated, as well as their statements,” the official added, utilizing North Korea’s official title, the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea.
A National Security Council spokesperson mentioned in a press release that the United States is dedicated to offering prolonged deterrence and that the allies are engaged on “an effective coordinated response to a range of scenarios, including nuclear use by North Korea.”
When requested concerning the tabletop workouts, a spokesman for South Korea’s Defense Ministry mentioned talks have been underway however declined to offer particulars.
The two nations have revived consultations on prolonged deterrence this yr after a yearslong hiatus amid North Korea’s growing nuclear and missile functionality.
Pyongyang outlined South Korea as an “undoubted enemy” and vowed to beef up its nuclear arsenal this yr, after firing a report variety of missiles in 2022 and fuelling stress by sending drones into the South in December.
“The U.S. countermeasures have not kept up with the North’s advancing nuclear programs, and the extended deterrence strategy is almost no different from when their nuclear capability was insignificant and weaker,” mentioned Go Myong-hyun, a analysis fellow on the Asan Institute for Policy Studies in Seoul.
But Kim Dong-yup, a professor at Kyungnam University, mentioned the remark from Biden, who has sole authority to authorize the usage of U.S. nuclear weapons, suggests an American reluctance to share nuclear operations, given their sensitivity and safety issues.
“Given growing voices for tactical nuclear weapons, Washington could try to give reassurances and send more nuclear assets when we want, but they’re unlikely to fully materialize President Yoon’s push for greater extended deterrence,” Kim mentioned.
