South Korea will not seek the return of U.S. tactical nuclear missiles over fears that the move could scupper international efforts to persuade North Korea to halt its nuclear program, the South Korean defense minister said on Tuesday.
"Redeploying U.S. tactical nuclear weapons in South Korea would cross the line of the denuclearization policy on the Korean Peninsula," South Korean deputy defense minister Chang Kwang-il told the Yonhap news agency.
He added that "South Korea has had no talks with the United States over the issue".
His comments came after North Korea launched an attack on a South Korean island earlier in the day, killing one serviceman and seriously injuring three. South Korea retaliated.
Seoul said the attack could have been in response to military drills it was carrying out in the area.
RIA Novosti
