A senior White House official said the Washington Declaration on strengthening U.S. extended deterrence agreed to by the presidents of South Korea and the U.S. does not amount to nuclear weapons sharing.

The remark from Edgard Kagan, the special assistant to the president and senior director for East Asia and Oceania at the National Security Council, came during a press briefing for South Korean media correspondents on Thursday.

Kagan said that the allies held in-depth discussions and Washington does not view the declaration as de facto nuclear sharing, a term he said carries significant implications.

He was responding to questions on the U.S. position regarding statements made by Kim Tae-hyo, the first deputy director of South Korea's National Security Office, a day earlier, that the declaration will make South Koreans "feel that they are sharing nuclear weapons with the U.S."

Emphasizing that the Washington Declaration does not pertain to the control of weapons and thus does not constitute sharing, Kagan said the agreement is still a "very significant step" that will allow "better cooperation, better understanding" on very sensitive issues between the allies.