Seoul warned Pyongyang on Friday that using its nuclear weapons would mean the “end” of Kim Jong Un’s regime after North Korea threatened nuclear retaliation amid increasing US military deployments in the peninsula.
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As Seoul and Washington have already “clearly stated,” according to South Korea’s defense ministry, “any nuclear strike against the alliance will be met with an immediate, overwhelming, and decisive response.”
Should this happen, “the North Korean regime would come to an end,” the ministry added in a statement.
North Korean Defense Minister Kang Sun Nam warned Thursday that a US nuclear submarine’s visit to South Korea this week could justify Pyongyang’s use of its nuclear weapons.
The stopover of the American submarine in Busan in the south of the country was merely a “legitimate defensive response” to Pyongyang’s permanent nuclear threats, Seoul estimated.
The stopover was decided during South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol’s trip to Washington in April, during which he and US President Joe Biden issued strong warnings to Pyongyang about the consequences of using nuclear weapons.
The last time the United States deployed a nuclear-capable submarine to South Korea was in 1981.
Relations between the two Koreas are at an all-time low, and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un is calling for increased development of weapons, including tactical nuclear weapons.
Photo: AFP
Seoul and Washington have stepped up defense cooperation and held joint military exercises.
This South Korean statement comes as an American soldier, Travis King, is believed to be detained by North Korea after he crossed the border during a tourist visit to the DMZ on Tuesday.
Pyongyang has not yet commented on Private King. In the past, the regime has arrested Americans and used them as bargaining chips.
Last year, North Korea passed a sweeping nuclear law that outlines a range of scenarios in which the country could use its nuclear weapons if threatened, including through pre-emptive strikes.
“North Korea is the only state to have passed the Nuclear Forces Policy Act, which provides for illegal pre-emptive strikes,” Seoul’s defense ministry said on Friday.
According to the ministry, Pyongyang is also conducting “pre-emptive strike exercises and threats of nuclear strikes” against the Seoul-Washington alliance.