US, South Korea plan 'coordinated response' against North Korea's nuclear threat

The US and South Korea are planning an "effective coordinated" response if North Korea led by Kim Jong-un uses nuclear weapons, the White House said on Tuesday.

South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol and US President Joe Biden have "tasked their teams to plan for an effective coordinated response to a range of scenarios, including nuclear use by North Korea," a spokesperson for the National Security Council at the White House said in a media briefing on Tuesday.

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The development comes after confirmation by the US President Joe Biden that Seoul and Washington are discussing its involvement in nuclear asset managementin the face of increasedNorth Korean nuclear threats.

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Earlier, while referring to the US nuclear assets, the South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeoltold The Chosun Ilbo newspaper in an interview that their "planning, information sharing, exercises and training should be jointly conducted by South Korea and the United States".He said he finds it difficult to assure his people of a security guarantee with the current levels of U.S. security commitment.

The latest White House statement is expected to pacify South Korean concerns over US' commitment to react for Seoulin the event of a North Korean nuclear attack.

North Korea's N-threat: Why increased concerns?

The increased Washington-Seoul ramping up to deter North Korea's nuclear threats is followed by Kim Jong-un's escalated rhetoric against Washington and Seoul.

The North Korean dictator entered 2023 with a vow to mass-produce battlefield nuclear weapons as well as more powerful intercontinental ballistic missiles.

The North Korean state media in the past has quoted Kim Jong-un as saying that he is ready to use his nuclear weapons in potential military conflicts with the United States and South Korea.

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