Yoon announces that Seoul and Washington negotiate joint nuclear exercises

MADRID, 2 Ene. (EUROPA PRESS) -

South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol announced Monday that his government is in talks with Washington to negotiate joint planning of nuclear exercises in response to threats from Pyongyang.

"South Korea and the United States are discussing ways to operate US nuclear forces under the concept of 'joint planning,'" the South Korean president said in an interview with the Chosun Ilbo newspaper.

"Nuclear weapons belong to the United States, but information sharing, planning and training must be done together," he added.

Yoon has indicated that the idea is that the Biden Administration provides a "nuclear umbrella or extended deterrence" to the country, that it should not "worry", despite the fact that "it is difficult to convince the public in this regard".

These statements have been made public a day after his North Korean counterpart, Kim Jong Un, announced "the need for mass production of tactical nuclear weapons", while branding his neighbor to the south as the "undoubted enemy", according to picked up the news agency KCNA.

Kim, who has pointed out that Seoul "openly preaches preparations for war", has reiterated that this situation -- in collaboration with the United States -- "requires redoubling efforts to overwhelmingly reinforce military force, to fully guarantee sovereignty, security and fundamental interests.