Yoon's office maintains S. Korea, U.S. in talks over joint nuclear operations

SEOUL, Jan. 3 (Yonhap) -- The office of President Yoon Suk Yeol said Tuesday that South Korea and the United States are in talks over sharing information and jointly implementing plans involving U.S. nuclear assets, after U.S. President Joe Biden denied the allies were discussing joint nuclear exercises.

Yoon said in a recent newspaper interview that the two sides were in talks over joint planning and exercises involving U.S. nuclear assets to counter North Korea's nuclear threats.

When asked by a reporter at the White House on Monday (local time) if such discussions were under way, Biden said, "No."

"When the Reuters reporter asked him point blank if joint nuclear exercises were being discussed, President Biden obviously had to say, 'No,'" senior presidential secretary for press affairs Kim Eun-hye said in a statement. "Joint nuclear exercise is a term used between nuclear powers.

"South Korea and the United States are in talks over information-sharing, joint planning and the joint implementation plans that follow, in relation to the operation of U.S. nuclear assets, to respond to North Korea's nuclear weapons," she said.

hague@yna.co.kr
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