South Korea and US sign pact to deter North Korea nuclear strike
Operational plan establishes 'strategic framework' for dealing with 'key North Korean nuclear threat scenarios'
South Korea and the United States signed a new strategic pact on Wednesday that provides a “tailored” deterrence against the specific threat of a nuclear attack from North Korea.
The operational plan establishes a “strategic framework” within the two countries’ military alliance for dealing with “key North Korean nuclear threat scenarios” both now and in the event of war, according to a joint statement.
The plan was signed by visiting US Defence Secretary Chuck Hagel, who reiterated US commitment to using all its military capabilities - conventional and nuclear - to provide South Korea with an “extended deterrence that is credible, capable and enduring”.
The joint statement provided no specific details of the measures envisaged by the new strategy, which is certain to be condemned by North Korea as a provocative step.
There should be no doubt that North Korean use of chemical weapons would be completely unacceptable
At a press briefing with his South Korean counterpart Lim Kwan-jin, Hagel stressed that the plan covered all the North’s weapons of mass destruction, including chemical weapons.