Ambassador to the U.S. "It's not the government's position to arm itself with nuclear weapons and redeploy tactical nuclear weapons."

Ambassador to the U.S. Cho Hyun-dong said that South Korea's independent nuclear armament or the redeployment of U.S. tactical nuclear weapons in South Korea are not in the South Korean government's position.

Ambassador Cho made the remarks at the parliamentary inspection of the National Assembly's Foreign Affairs and Unification Committee at the Embassy of the U.S. in Washington on Kim Ki-hyun's remarks that behind-the-scenes public opinion creation activities in the U.S. are needed to redeploy tactical nuclear weapons.

Ambassador Cho replied that the purpose of the South Korea-U.S. Nuclear Consultative Group and the Washington Declaration is to come up with the best way to respond to the North Korean nuclear threat without having to arm itself or redeploy tactical nuclear weapons.

Ambassador Cho expressed his negative stance on public opinion-making activities in the U.S. to redeploy tactical nuclear weapons, saying it is a reality that they cannot do activities that do not match the direction of the government.

In his remarks, Ambassador Cho said, "The two countries have recently agreed to a defense cost-sharing agreement to maintain a firm defense posture and to ensure a stable presence of U.S. troops in Korea," adding, "We will continue to develop the South Korea-U.S. alliance based on these achievements."

He also said that he will hold active high-level consultations with the new U.S. administration, which will be launched next year, and actively pursue cooperation on our major concerns, including the North Korean issue.