South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol said today that Seoul is studying "various options" on how to strengthen the so-called expanded deterrence offered by Washington in the face of Pyongyang’s weapons advances.
"There are different opinions in our country and in the United States regarding expanded deterrence, and so I am listening and carefully considering various options"Yoon told reporters today in remarks picked up by the Yonhap news agency.
The South Korean president responded to a question that referred to an article published today by the Chosun newspaper, the country’s main newspaper, in which it is said that the Yoon government would have asked the American for the continued deployment and in turns of different strategic assets of the Pentagon such as aircraft carriers or submarines, if Pyongyang carries out a new nuclear test.
The so-called extended deterrence is a commitment made last May by Washington with Seoul that consists of sending US strategic assets to the Korean peninsula of "coordinated manner and when necessary" based on the actions of the northern regime.
Yoon’s words come hours after North Korean media reported that the regime on Wednesday tested two long-range cruise missiles belonging to military units that operate tactical nuclear weapons.
the of today is the eighth release of this kind that the Kim Jong-un regime has been carrying out since last September 25, in what is a series of tests that seek to test the tactical nuclear weapons systems of the North Korean army in response to the recent maneuvers of a US aircraft carrier in waters of the Korean peninsula.
Many analysts believe that on the horizon New North Korean Trials Are Drawn, including a new underground nuclear detonation, which would be the first since September 2017.
North Korea, which has kept its borders completely closed since the start of the pandemic, approved a major weapons modernization plan in 2021 and has rejected offers to resume dialogue by South Korea and the US.
In turn, the satellites have detected that the hermetic country has been preparing for months to carry out a new atomic test in Punggye-ri (northeast of the country).