South Korea is in talks with the United States to deploy U.S. strategic assets on the Korean peninsula, a South Korean military official said on Thursday, a day after North Korea said it successfully tested a hydrogen nuclear device.
The United States and weapons experts voiced doubts the device was as advanced as North Korea claimed, but calls mounted for more sanctions against the isolated state for its rogue nuclear programme.
The underground explosion angered China, which was not given prior notice although it is North Korea`s main ally, pointing to a strain in ties between the neighbours. The test also alarmed Japan, whose leader told U.S. President Barack Obama in a phone call that a firm global response was needed, Kyodo news agency said.
Obama also spoke to President Park Geun-hye of South Korea to discuss options.
A South Korean military official told Reuters the two countries had discussed the deployment of U.S. strategic assets on the divided Korean peninsula, but declined to give further details. After North Korea last tested a nuclear device, in 2013, Washington sent a pair of nuclear-capable B-2 stealth bombers on a sortie over South Korea in a show of force.
At the time, North Korea responded by threatening a nuclear strike on the United States.
South Korea, technically in a state of war against the North, said it was not considering a nuclear deterrent of its own, despite calls from ruling party leaders. The United States is highly unlikely to restore the tactical nuclear missiles it removed from South Korea in 1991, experts said.
