Seoul, South Korea CNN —
North Korea will face “a determined and overwhelming response” from South Korea and the United States if it attempts to use nuclear weapons, South Korea’s President Yoon Suk Yeol said on Saturday.
At the 74th Armed Forces Day celebration, Yoon called North Korea’s recent law declaring itself a “nuclear weapon state” a threat to South Korea’s survival and prosperity and reiterated its call for Kim Jong Un to phase out nuclear weapons.
“[North Korea’s] The development of nuclear weapons will make life difficult for North Koreans. The regime must make the denuclearization decision for true peace and mutual prosperity on the Korean peninsula,” Yoon said.
Yoon also reaffirmed the South Korea-US alliance and promised that both militaries would respond firmly to North Korea’s provocations and threats if necessary.
“(South Korea’s government) will improve its reconnaissance and surveillance capabilities and strike capabilities against North Korea,” Yoon added.
Earlier Saturday, South Korea’s military detected two short-range ballistic missiles fired from North Korea’s Sunan area in Pyongyang, South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) said in a statement.
It was the fourth time in the past week that Pyongyang has fired missiles.
South Korea held an emergency National Security Council (NSC) session shortly after North Korea’s launch.
North Korea has fired the most ballistic missiles in a single year since Kim Jong Un took power in 2012, according to the Unification Ministry and a CNN tally.