South Korea is considering joint exercises that would use the US nuclear arsenal, and this announcement came after North Korea called its neighbor an enemy, Reuters reports.
South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol said in an interview published in the newspaper Chosun Ilbo on 2nd of January: «The nuclear weapons belong to the United States, but planning, information sharing, exercises, and training should be jointly conducted by South Korea and the United States.» He told the newspaper that the purpose of the exercise will be to achieve more effective defense, and the United States is also positive about the idea.
The representative of the US Pentagon stated that there are no new news or decisions to talk about, but added that the cooperation is still strong and stable.
On the 1st of January, North Korean state media reported that Kim Jong-un called for the development of new intercontinental missiles and a substantial increase in the country’s nuclear arsenal. In late December, North Korea’s president called South Korea an undisputed enemy at a party meeting and set new military targets, hinting at another tense year with numerous weapons tests ahead.
Relations between the two countries have long been volatile, but have been rocked further since Yoon Suk-yeol took office, taking a tougher stance on North Korea.
On the 1st of January, North Korea fired a short-range ballistic missile from its east coast.
North Korea’s efforts to increase its nuclear arsenal have reignited the debate over South Korea’s armaments, but Sukyol has indicated that the terms of the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons remain in place. Meanwhile, North Korea has replaced its top military personnel and defense minister.
Experts point out that this could be a year of crisis when the military tension on the Korean Peninsula will exceed the level of 2017 – when Pyongyang first launched an intercontinental ballistic missile and conducted another nuclear test. North Korea’s stance on South Korea-US cooperation and exercises could cause a conflict in an instant, and a regional conflict caused by a misunderstanding is not ruled out.
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