(LEAD) Biden says U.S. not discussing joint nuclear exercise with S. Korea

(LEAD) US-S Korea-nuclear drills

(LEAD) Biden says U.S. not discussing joint nuclear exercise with S. Korea

(ATTN: UPDATES with senior official's comments from 4th para)

WASHINGTON, Jan. 2 (Yonhap) -- U.S. President Joe Biden said Monday his country has no ongoing discussions with South Korea on joint nuclear exercises against North Korea's threats.

He said, "No," responding to a reporter's question about whether the allies are in consultations over the issue, according to White House pool reports.

Speaking earlier at an interview with a South Korean newspaper in Seoul, President Yoon Suk Yeol said the two sides are in discussions on conducting joint drills using nuclear assets in a move to bolster "extended deterrence" by practicing its implementation. He added the U.S. is "quite positive" about it.

In response to the news reports of Biden's response, Yoon's office again said Seoul and Washington are talking about information sharing on the operation of the U.S. nuclear assets to counter the North's nuclear threats as well as relevant "joint planning" and ways for "joint action."

However, a senior Biden administration official reportedly said soon that the U.S. is "not planning joint nuclear exercises with South Korea," now that it is not a nuclear power.

The two sides are "looking at enhanced information sharing, expanded contingencies and an eventual tabletop exercise," as both are committed to joint efforts to deter North Korea, the official was quoted as saying by Reuters.

Since the launch of the conservative Yoon government in May last year, the allies have sought to beef up extended deterrence, which refers to Washington's commitment to the deployment of both nuclear and non-nuclear assets to defend Seoul.

The nuclear-armed North's Kim Jong-un regime has openly threatened a preemptive use of its tactical nuclear weapons against the South.

[https://youtu.be/wovD-A0gJB0]

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