Biden: There is no discussion of joint high schools with South Korea for the use of nuclear weapons

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In an interview with the Chosun Ilbo newspaper published on Monday, President Yun said talks are underway on joint high schools with the deployment of elements of the US nuclear arsenal.

The U.S. government is not discussing with South Korea joint military training on the use of nuclear weapons, U.S. President Joe Biden said Monday, appearing to contradict his South Korean counterpart Yun Seok-gil amid soaring tensions. with North Korea.

In an interview with the Chosun Ilbo newspaper published on Monday, President Yun said talks are underway on joint high schools with the deployment of elements of the US nuclear arsenal.

But Mr. Biden answered “No” when asked by reporters at the White House if such a discussion is actually taking place. The US president made this statement after his vacation in the US Virgin Islands, where he was accompanied by the national security adviser of the US presidency, Jake Sullivan.

However, shortly after Mr Biden’s statement, the South Korean presidency issued a press release insisting that Seoul and Washington were in talks to jointly design and execute “plans” to develop US nuclear components. arsenal in response to North Korea’s threats, South Korea’s national Yonhap news agency reported. Mr Biden would apparently answer “no” to the question of whether there is discussion of “joint exercises for the use of nuclear weapons” since South Korea does not have a nuclear arsenal, the statement claimed.

In his interview, Mr Yun called for “preparation for war” with “overwhelming” capabilities as North Korea carried out a record number of weapons tests in 2022, while last week North Korean UAVs violated South Korean airspace, one of of which he arrived near Seoul.

“Nuclear weapons belong to the US, but the planning, intelligence sharing, high schools and training should be done jointly by South Korea and the US,” Mr. Yun said, adding that Washington was “positively” the idea. The South Korean president also spoke of “extended deterrence,” referring to the ability of U.S. nuclear forces to repel attacks against Washington’s allies — also known as the “nuclear umbrella.”

The South Korean president’s remarks came a day after North Korean leader Kim Jong Un announced that his country’s nuclear arsenal would expand “exponentially,” according to the North’s official KCNA news agency.

The relationship between North and South Korea has been marked by decades of hostility — technically the two countries remain at war — but tensions have risen sharply since Yun Seok-gil took power last year, vowing to maintain a long tougher stance against Pyongyang’s “challenges”.

On Sunday, North Korea launched a short-range ballistic missile, and on Saturday three ballistic missiles. KCNA reported that a “very large-sized” multiple launch system capable of carrying a nuclear warhead was tested.

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