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SEOUL, Jan 2 (Reuters) - South Korea and the United States are discussing imaginable associated readying and exercises utilizing U.S. atomic assets successful the look of North Korea's increasing atomic and rocket threats, South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol said successful a paper interview.
The Chosun Ilbo paper quoted Yoon arsenic saying the associated readying and exercises would beryllium aimed astatine a much effectual implementation of the U.S. "extended deterrence."
The word means the quality of the U.S. military, peculiarly its atomic forces, to deter attacks connected U.S. allies.
"The atomic weapons beryllium to the United States, but planning, accusation sharing, exercises and grooming should beryllium jointly conducted by South Korea and the United States," Yoon said, adding Washington is besides "quite positive" astir the idea.
Yoon's remarks travel a time aft North Korean authorities media reported that its person Kim Jong Un called for processing caller intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBMs) and an "exponential increase" of the country's atomic arsenal to antagonistic U.S.-led threats amid flaring hostility betwixt the rival Koreas.
The North's contention to beforehand its atomic and rocket programmes has renewed statement implicit South Korea's ain atomic armaments, but Yoon said maintaining the Treaty connected the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons remained important.
At a gathering of the ruling Workers' Party past week, Kim said South Korea has present go the North's "undoubted enemy" and rolled retired caller subject goals, hinting astatine different twelvemonth of intensive weapons tests and tension.
Inter-Korean ties person agelong been testy but person been adjacent much frayed since Yoon took bureau successful May.
On Sunday, North Korea fired a short-range ballistic rocket disconnected its eastbound coast, successful a uncommon late-night, New Year's Day weapons test, pursuing 3 ballistic missiles launched connected Saturday, capping a twelvemonth marked by a grounds fig of rocket tests.
Yoon's comments connected the atomic exercises are the latest objection of his pugnacious stance connected North Korea. He urged the subject to hole for a warfare with "overwhelming" capableness pursuing North Korean drones crossing into the South past week.
Analysts accidental the tensions could worsen.
"This twelvemonth could beryllium a twelvemonth of situation with subject hostility connected the Korean peninsula going beyond what it was similar successful 2017," said Hong Min, a elder researcher astatine the Korea Institute for National Unification, referring to the days of the "fire and fury" nether the Trump administration.
"North Korea's hardline stance...and assertive weapons improvement erstwhile met with South Korea-U.S. associated exercises and proportional effect could rise the hostility successful a flash, and we cannot regularisation retired what's akin to a determination struggle erstwhile the 2 sides person a misunderstanding of the situation," Hong said.
Reporting by Soo-hyang Choi, Editing by Raju Gopalakrishnan
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