CALLS TO REDEPLOY NUCLEAR WEAPONS

[Anchor Lead]

With Pyongyang's nuclear threat escalating, some in the ruling party are calling for redeploying tactical nuclear weapons in South Korea. The presidential office says no discussion on the matter has been held yet, but it's not denying the possibility, either.

[Pkg]

The ruling party leadership says the joint declaration on denuclearization should be scrapped if North Korea goes ahead with another nuclear test.

[Soundbite] Chung Jin-suk(PPP Emergency Committee chief) : "Our country refused tactical nuclear weapons and went nuclear-free. But the North is advancing nuclear weapons."

The 1991 Denuclearization Declaration was signed to make the U.S. pull out its tactical nuclear weapons deployed on the Korean Peninsula. The ruling party says its calls for scrapping the joint declaration do not imply their re-deployment. However, they do support those who want tactical nuclear weapons back on the peninsula. However, the presidential office didn't say much beyond the fact that it had never officially discussed the matter with the ruling party. It says the president's words should be understood as they are.

[Soundbite] Yoon Suk-yeol(President (Oct. 11)) : "I am pondering various opinions in S. Korea and the U.S. on the redeployment of tactical nuclear weapons."

A senior presidential official stressed that Yoon's stance had not changed and that this issue is not easy to decide on for those with policy-making authority. When Yoon was running for president, he did not favor the idea of re-deploying tactical nuclear weapons. He said it was unclear if Washington would agree given the overall balance in Northeast Asia, and there would be no longer justification for demanding Pyongyang's denuclearization. Sources say Yoon still believes that the Non-Proliferation Treaty must be complied with. However, a senior presidential official said that strategic ambiguity is being maintained. Seoul and Washington are devising plans on how to respond to Pyongyang's nuclear test. They believe there is no need to remove one of Pyongyang's concerns in advance. The presidential office apparently wants to leave the door open for considering the re-deployment of tactical nuclear weapons as one of the options according to how the situation unfolds in the future.