The formal announcement of the proposal will be made at the White House on Wednesday by US President Joe Biden and his South Korean counterpart, Yoon Suk-yeol, according to the officials’ statements to numerous US media sites.
The ‘Washington Declaration’, which the two leaders are about to sign, calls for more information sharing and cooperative military exercises as the United States spins nuclear planes and submarines into Korea from South.
One of the unnamed officials added: “We aim to make efforts to make our deterrence more evident through the frequent deployment of strategic assets, including a US nuclear ballistic submarine visit to South Korea, which has not not taken place since the early 1980s. The action was contrary to “what we did with European allies at the height of the Cold War in similar times of potential external threat”, alluding to the missile program North.
Since the start of 2022, Pyongyang has tested more than 100 missiles, including a nuclear-capable underwater attack drone and its first intercontinental ballistic missile using solid fuel. Since last year, officials in Washington and Seoul have claimed that the North was preparing for its sixth underground nuclear bomb test.
North Korea often reacts to US deployments near its territory with rhetorical threats, its own exercises or new missile tests.
In addition to preventing North Korea, the deployment of nuclear-capable submarines to the south is likely intended to mend strained ties between Washington and Seoul, which have been shattered by the recent release of Pentagon documents revealing espionage. US on senior South Korean officials to verify their position on arming Ukraine.
According to the person concerned, the United States wants to remind Seoul that its “commitment” to the nation is “indisputable” by putting in place these new measures.
