President Yoon Suk Yeol said South Korea and the U.S. must cooperate and address North Korea issues as the allies are both exposed to threats from the regime's nuclear program.

Speaking to the Associated Press on Tuesday, Yoon said his administration has continuously discussed joint planning and training between the allies that could potentially involve U.S. nuclear assets.

[Sound bite: President Yoon Suk Yeol (Korean-English)]
"Since the launch of our government, we have been constantly discussing this issue (of South Korea's involvement in U.S. nuclear deterrence) with interest. We have not seen any results yet, but South Korea and the U.S. will cooperate in this system which the US has been operating unilaterally. Although nuclear assets are U.S. assets, South Korea will participate in their operation, and the two countries will work together to respond to the threat of North Korea's nuclear escalation." 

The president said such cooperation might involve tabletop exercises, computer simulations and drills on delivery means for nuclear weapons.

Yoon said North Korea's illegal acts only serve to further strengthen Seoul's security response capabilities and security cooperation with Washington and Tokyo.

[Sound bite: President Yoon Suk Yeol (Korean-English)]
"There’s no way for our country or any other country to know exactly why they are conducting such provocations. But stepping up our response and security posture are only what we can do. Also, these unlawful North Korean provocations can only result in the strengthening of (South Korea’s) security response capabilities and a further strengthening of the security cooperation between South Korea, the United States and Japan." 

The conservative leader, who has pledged to take a tougher stance on the North, said he will not pursue dialogue for the sake of it, stressing that past inter-Korean talks were often politically exploited while failing to eliminate the regime's nuclear program.