The Washington Times reported Wednesday that the U.S. pledge obliging Washington to come to the aid of South Korea in the event of a North Korean attack includes the possible use of nuclear weapons.

The paper reported that the phrase, "continuing U.S. provision of a nuclear umbrella for South Korea," was included in the statement released after the Korea-US Security Consultative Meeting in Seoul earlier this week.

The Washington Times noted that the explicit remarks for the protection of South Korea including the use of nuclear arms was quite unusual, even though the U.S. made a similar pledge when it pulled all tactical nuclear weapons from the South in the early 1990s.