South Korea announced today, Wednesday, that it will consider suspending the military agreement if North Korea repeatedly violates its airspace, and Washington confirmed that it is preparing with Seoul scenarios to respond to threats, including Pyongyang's use of nuclear weapons.

South Korean President Yoon Sok-yol said he would consider suspending the 2018 inter-Korean military pact if North Korea violated his country's airspace again, calling for building an "overwhelming response capability beyond proportionality".

Yonhap news agency reported that the president was briefed on countermeasures for North Korean drones that flew over his country last week. Yoon criticized the military's handling of the incident, partly blaming the previous administration's reliance on the 2018 agreement banning hostile activities in border areas.

And the agency reported that Yoon ordered the Minister of Defense to launch a comprehensive unit for drones that carries out multiple tasks, including surveillance, reconnaissance and electronic warfare.

The South Korean president also called for accelerating the development of unmanned aerial vehicles this year, and speeding up the construction of an anti-drone system.

nuclear threat

On the other hand, a spokesman for the National Security Council at the White House said that US President Joe Biden and his South Korean counterpart "assigned their teams to plan an effective coordinated response to a number of scenarios, including the use of nuclear weapons by North Korea."

The spokesman explained that joint nuclear exercises with South Korea are not on the table because Seoul does not possess nuclear weapons, but added that "the United States fully adheres to the alliance with it ... and provides extended deterrence through the full range of US defense capabilities."

There have been conflicting statements recently regarding these maneuvers, as Biden confirmed on Monday that there are no discussions between the two parties regarding conducting joint nuclear maneuvers, but shortly after this denial, South Korea renewed President Yoon's declaration that the two countries are discussing joint operations using US nuclear capabilities.

The South Korean president said in a press interview that nuclear weapons belong to 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".

Yoon's remarks came after North Korean leader Kim Jong Un called for a "massive" increase in his country's nuclear arsenal and the development of new intercontinental ballistic missiles.

Military tensions on the Korean peninsula escalated sharply in 2022, with North Korea conducting weapons tests almost every month, including the launch of its most advanced intercontinental ballistic missile.