U.S. SECRETARY OF DEFENSE LLOYD AUSTIN, LEFT, SHAKES HANDS WITH SOUTH KOREAN DEFENSE MINISTER LEE JONG-SUP ON JAN. 31, 2023. AP.
U.S. and South Korean forces will hold a tabletop exercise next week simulating a nuclear deployment.
The exercise is intended to refine both countries' responses to the potential use of a nuclear weapon by North Korea.
- The militaries of the U.S. and South Korea will jointly participate in a one-day training simulation at the Pentagon next Wednesday.
- The exercise will explore measures that could be used in response to different scenarios involving North Korea's potential deployment of a nuclear weapon.
- The simulated measures will include military responses to the hypothetical incident as well as crisis management plans.
- The two allies will also discuss how the U.S. can leverage its conventional and nuclear military capabilities to deter a potential North Korean attack.
- Pyongyang fired a record number of missile tests in 2022 and revised its nuclear doctrine to authorize the use of preemptive strikes.
- U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said in January that the Pentagon will boost its deployment of advanced U.S. weapons on the Korean Peninsula to deter North Korean aggression.
