Seoul: Would be “end” for regime
South Korea warns North Korea against using nuclear weapons
07/21/2023, 2:15 p.m
North Korea feels threatened by the growing US military presence in South Korea. The North Korean defense minister warns that this could justify the use of nuclear weapons. Seoul’s response is unequivocal.
Following North Korean threats of a nuclear attack over a growing US military presence in the region, South Korea has warned the country that using such weapons would mean the “end” of the “North Korean regime”. As Washington and Seoul have previously made clear, any nuclear attack will receive “an immediate, overwhelming, and decisive response,” the Seoul Defense Ministry said. If there is a nuclear attack, “the North Korean regime will come to an end.”
North Korean Defense Minister Kang Sun Nam warned on Thursday that the detention of a US nuclear-capable submarine in Busan, South Korea, could justify the use of nuclear weapons. Pyongyang passed new legislation last year that would allow a pre-emptive nuclear strike in the event of a threat under certain circumstances.
The South Korean Defense Ministry said the US submarine’s visit was a “legitimate defensive response” to Pyongyang’s ongoing threats. Relations between North and South Korea are currently at a low point. North Korea’s ruler Kim Jong Un has repeatedly threatened a military escalation in the region and has announced that he will expand his own nuclear arsenal “exponentially”. Washington and Seoul have therefore been warning for months that North Korea could carry out a nuclear weapons test in the near future. It would be the first such test since 2017.
A US soldier is also believed to be in custody in North Korea. He had crossed the heavily secured border from South to North Korea during a sightseeing tour. Pyongyang has repeatedly detained US citizens over the years and used them as a bargaining chip. So far, the North Korean leadership has not announced anything about the current case.