epa05531125 (FILE) An undated picture provided by the official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) on 09 March 2016 shows North Korean leader Kim Jong-un (C), talking with scientists and technicians involved in research of nuclear weapons, at an undisclosed location, North Korea. A magnitude-5.3 earthquake was detected in northeastern North Korea on 09 September, the South Korean military said, raising speculation that the North conducted a nuclear test on the occasion of its founding anniversary. EPA/KCNA / HANDOUT SOUTH KOREA OUT EDITORIAL USE ONLY NYTCREDIT: Kcna / Handout/European Pressphoto Agency
Bloomberg reports that the US and South Korea are working together to counter North Korea’s nuclear program.
The US is in discussions with South Korea on ways to deter Kim Jong Un’s regime from using nuclear weapons, according to a spokesperson for the National Security Council.
[South Korean President Suk Yeol} Yoon told the Chosun Ilbo newspaper in an interview published Monday that “while the nuclear weapons belong to the US, intel sharing, planning, and training should be done jointly” and the US’s stance on the matter was “quite positive.”
Yoon had said that the strategy of “nuclear umbrella” or “extended deterrence” is no longer reassuring for the public now that North Korea has developed nuclear weapons and a range of missiles to deliver them. Since taking power last May, Yoon has sought to put South Korea on a path of overwhelming military strength against North Korea, which has launched scores of missiles in defiance of United Nations resolutions and is preparing for another nuclear test.
