Presidential Office: "South Korea and US Discuss Joint Planning and Execution of US Nuclear Asset Management"

Biden Denies 'Joint Nuclear Exercise Discussion' Explanation
Presidential Office: "Term Possible Among Nuclear Powers"
South Korea-US Agreed on 'Joint Nuclear Operation Planning and Execution' Last Year

[Asia Economy Reporter Ki-min Lee] On the 3rd, the Presidential Office reiterated, "The Republic of Korea and the United States are discussing information sharing on the operation of U.S. nuclear force assets, joint planning, and corresponding joint execution measures to respond to North Korea's nuclear threat."

In a written briefing distributed to the media on the morning of the same day, Kim Eun-hye, Chief of Public Relations, explained this in relation to U.S. President Joe Biden's response of "No" to reporters' question, "Are you currently discussing joint nuclear exercises with South Korea?"

Chief Kim said, "President Biden's statement today was a response to a Reuters reporter abruptly asking if they were discussing 'joint nuclear exercises,' so he naturally had to answer no."

She added, "The term 'Joint nuclear exercise' is a term possible only among nuclear-armed countries." This implies that since South Korea does not possess nuclear weapons, the concept of nuclear war exercises cannot be applied.

[Image source=Yonhap News]

Earlier, in a New Year interview with Chosun Ilbo released the previous day, President Yoon Suk-yeol mentioned, "For effective extended deterrence, we are discussing joint planning and joint exercise concepts regarding nuclear weapons with the United States, and the U.S. is quite positive about it."

Joint planning and joint exercises on nuclear force operations were agreed upon at the 54th Security Consultative Meeting (SCM) held in the United States last November, attended by the defense ministers of both South Korea and the United States.