A ranking member of the U.S. Senate Committee on Armed Services has proposed redeploying U.S. tactical nuclear arms to the Korean Peninsula to reinforce deterrence against North Korea, and exploring options such as new nuclear sharing agreements with South Korea.

The suggestions were made on Wednesday by Republican Senator Roger Wicker, who introduced in a report a proposal to increase the 2025 defense budget by 55 billion U.S. dollars to enhance the response against threats from Russia, China and North Korea.

Wicker said North Korean leader Kim Jong-un continues to build more nuclear weapons and ballistic missiles capable of striking the U.S. and its Indo-Pacific allies each year, with no immediate diplomatic solution in sight.

As part of efforts to ensure deterrence on the peninsula does not weaken, Wicker stressed the need to hold regular South Korea-U.S. military drills, keep a persistent U.S. military presence on the peninsula, explore nuclear sharing agreements and redeploy U.S. tactical nuclear weapons.

The Republican senator also called for beginning discussions with South Korea, Japan and Australia to gauge their willingness to engage in a nuclear burden-sharing arrangement with the U.S., similar to those existing with NATO allies.