US President Joe Biden said Monday that his country is not currently holding any talks with South Korea on joint nuclear exercises, in response to what Washington and Seoul describe as North Korea's provocations.
Biden responded in the negative to a question by a reporter at the White House about the talks that South Korean President Yoon Sok Yul referred to in an interview published Monday by the local newspaper, "Chosun Ilbo".
Yoon revealed a discussion between his country and the United States to conduct joint exercises in which the US nuclear capabilities are used to confront the North Korean nuclear threat.
The South Korean president said that the aim of the exercises is to strengthen the "extended nuclear deterrence" in the face of possible nuclear attacks against US allies in the region.
He added that nuclear weapons are owned by the United States, but their preparation and sharing of information, maneuvers and exercises must be conducted jointly with his country, adding that Washington receives this idea "positively".
The nuclear umbrella is not enough
Yun acknowledged that the US "nuclear umbrella" was no longer sufficient to reassure the South Koreans.
Yoon's remarks came a day after North Korean leader Kim Jong Un called for mass production of nuclear warheads, including mass production of tactical nuclear weapons and the development of new missiles for use in counter-nuclear strikes, according to the official North Korean news agency KCNA.
The Reuters news agency quoted a former US State Department official as saying that the South Korean president's statements were directed at home, and appeared to be a response to what he described as the North's provocations.
For his part, South Korean Defense Minister Lee Jong-sup confirmed that his country would not hesitate to respond forcefully to any provocations from its northern neighbor, and warned it of what he called undermining peace in the region.
Over the past year, North Korea has conducted a record number of missile tests, including the launch of an intercontinental missile believed to be capable of hitting US territory, and a few days ago it deployed drones, some of which flew over the capital, Seoul.