Defense Minister Song Young-moo brought up possible redeployment of U.S. tactical nuclear weapons here as he met with his U.S. counterpart James Mattis and White House National Security Adviser H.R. McMaster on Wednesday.

The U.S. withdrew its nukes from South Korea in 1991, but now the prospect of North Korea developing its own nuclear-tipped missiles is becoming increasingly real.

A senior government official here quoted Song as telling McMaster that opposition parties and the media here are calling for re-deployment of the nukes. How the U.S. officials reacted is not known.

Cheong Wa Dae said Song did not mean that the government wants the U.S. nukes to return, but just reported these opinions. Vice Defense Minister Suh Choo-suk told the National Assembly Defense Committee, "Song and Mattis merely exchanged comments on the issue but didn't have any serious discussion about it."

"There has been no detailed discussion about it between Seoul and Washington, and Washington has no strong opinion either," he added.