US, South Korea warn of ‘end’ of Kim Jong-un regime if North Korea uses nuclear weapons
- US Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin and his South Korean counterpart Lee Jong-sup said any nuclear attack by Pyongyang was ‘unacceptable’
- Washington and its Asian allies have warned that the North may conduct its first nuclear test since 2017 in the coming weeks
US Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin also pledged to respond to any North Korean provocation by employing nuclear-capable US strategic assets “to the level equivalent to constant deployment,” South Korean Defence Minister Lee Jong-sup said at a joint press conference with Austin following their security consultative meeting.
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Lee said through an interpreter that he and Austin affirmed that any nuclear attack by North Korea, including the use of tactical nuclear weapons, is “unacceptable” and would result in the “end of the Kim Jong-un regime by the overwhelming and decisive response of the alliance.”
“This is a strong warning against the DPRK,” the South Korean minister said, referring to the acronym of North Korea’s official name, the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea.
Lee and Austin also agreed to further strengthen the bilateral alliance’s capabilities and information sharing as well as its joint planning and execution to deter and respond to North Korean threats.
North Korea’s latest missile launches appeared to be in retaliation for the first large-scale joint air exercise by the US and South Korea in five years, which began in late October.
Condemning North Korea’s ICBM launch as “destabilising,” Austin said the two countries have decided to extend the period of the drill known as Vigilant Storm.
On the dispatch of strategic assets such as an aircraft carrier, Austin said the Pentagon is not planning any new deployment on the Korean peninsula on a permanent basis, but said assets are expected to “move in and out on a routine basis.”