RULING PARTY CALLS FOR NUCLEAR ARMAMENT

[Anchor Lead]

With North Korea's nuclear threat escalating, the ruling party is calling for nuclear armament. Some say the U.S. strategic assets should be deployed on the peninsula for nuclear sharing. President Yoon says he's weighing various options.

[Pkg]

While visiting Daegu, the leadership of the People Power Party said the Joint Declaration on Denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula signed by the two Koreas in 1992 had become useless. The PPP says the U.S. nuclear umbrella policy should be modified to counter North Korea's nuclear threat.

[Soundbite] Chung Jin-suk(PPP Emergency Committee chief) : "With North Korean ICBMs being capable of reaching the U.S. mainland, will U.S. retaliate with a nuclear attack for us when it is hit?"

The PPP leadership is in fact calling for South Korea's nuclear armament. Some party members say tactical nuclear weapons should be redeployed. Others are calling for NATO-style nuclear sharing or the development of the nation's own nuclear weapons. There are also those who say U.S. aircraft carriers and submarines equipped with nuclear weapons should be deployed permanently in the East Sea for nuclear sharing. President Yoon says it's hard to give a definite answer on the security situation. However, he added he's taking into consideration a number of opinions from Korea and the U.S.

[Soundbite] Yoon Suk-yeol(President) : "I am receiving various opinions on extended deterrence and weighing various options."

A senior presidential official said rather than redeploying tactical nuclear weapons on the peninsula, deploying U.S. strategic assets on a rotational basis would be less burdensome. The official added that the presidential office is weighing various options regarding how to carry out this kind of nuclear sharing in the Asia-Pacific region. The national defense and foreign affairs authorities have shared similar stances.

[Soundbite] Lim Su-seok(Foreign Ministry spokesperson) : "S. Korea and U.S. are discussing ways to bolster extended deterrence by deploying U.S. strategic assets in a timely and coordinated manner."

The presidential office official says it's not discussing permanent rotational deployment with Washington yet.