The United States is coordinating with South Korea to respond to a number of scenarios from North Korea, including the possibility of North Korea’s using nuclear weapons, the White House said on Tuesday.
President Joe Biden and South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol told their governments to plan an “effective, coordinated response to a range of scenarios, including nuclear use by North Korea,” press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre Jean-Pierre said at her briefing. But, she added: “We’re not discussing joint nuclear exercises,” noting that South Korea is a state without nuclear weapons.
Jean-Pierre’s remarks followed apparently contradicting accounts from Biden and his South Korean counterpart this week. Yoon was quoted in a newspaper interview published on Monday as saying the two governments were discussing joint nuclear exercises; speaking to reporters later on Monday, Biden denied any such activity, Reuters reported.