US-South Korea nuclear weapons deal – what you need to know

South Korea's Yoon Suk Yeol is only the second leader to travel to the U.S. for a state visit during the Biden administration. AP Photo/Evan Vucci

The United States and South Korea have unveiled an agreement under which leaders in Seoul will be handed an enhanced role in planning any nuclear response to a strike in the region by North Korea.

Announced at a state visit to Washington by South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol on April 26, 2023, the so-called “Washington Declaration” will see U.S. deployments of “strategic assets” around the Korean Peninsula, including an upcoming visit by a nuclear submarine. The last time the U.S. had nuclear weapons in South Korea was 1991