S. Korea says talks with U.S. on management of nukes underway

South Korea maintained that Seoul and Washington are discussing its involvement in U.S. nuclear weapons management in the face of intensifying North Korean threats, after President Joe Biden denied that the allies were discussing joint nuclear exercises.

The purported difference came as South Korea is seeking a greater U.S. security commitment after

North Korea’s many missile tests and escalating nuclear doctrine last year caused security jitters among many people in the South.

Some experts say South Korea’s statement on the discussion is likely largely based on an agreement between their defense chiefs in November to conduct table-top exercises, usually computer simulations, annually and further strengthen the alliance’s information sharing, joint planning and execution. In November, they also reaffirmed the

U.S. commitment to providing extended deterrence, a reference to a U.S. promise to use full U.S. capabilities, including nuclear, to protect its allies.

In a newspaper interview published Monday, South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol said that Seoul and Washington were pushing for joint planning and training involving U.S. nuclear assets and that the United States responded positively to the idea. Asked by a reporter later at the White House about whether the two countries were discussing joint nuclear exercises, Biden replied, “No.”

After Biden’s comments created a brief stir in South Korea, Yoon’s top adviser for press affairs, Kim Eunhye, issued a statement Tuesday to reconfirm Yoon’s earlier remarks. Kim said the two countries “are discussing an intelsharing, a joint planning and subsequent joint execution plans over the management of U.S. nuclear assets in response to North Korea’s nuclear [threats].”

The White House National Security Council in a statement on Tuesday said Biden and Yoon have “tasked their teams to plan for an effective coordinated response to a range of scenarios, including nuclear use by North Korea.”

A senior Biden administration official said U.S. and South Korean officials are expected to hold table-top exercises soon to chart out a potential joint response to a range of scenarios, including deployment of a nuclear weapon by the North. The official spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss planning.

Moon Seong Mook, an analyst for the Seoul-based Korea Research Institute for National Strategy, said Yoon likely was referring to the November agreement on the alliance’s capabilities, which he said definitely include U.S. nuclear assets that are essential to the U.S. extended deterrence commitment.

South Korea has no nuclear weapons and is under the protection of a U.S. “nuclear umbrella,” which guarantees an American response in the event of an attack on its ally.