N. Korea’s Growing Threat: South Korea’s Yoon Says Alliance with US ‘Nuclear-Based’

Tue Jun 06 2023
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SEOUL: President of South Korea, Yoon Suk Yeol, said on Tuesday that he has upgraded the country’s alliance with the United States to one that is “nuclear-based” in the face of North Korea’s growing army threat.

According to Arab News, Yoon referred to his talks with United States President Joe Biden in April on Washington’s willingness to give Seoul more insight into its nuclear planning in the event of potential conflict with nuclear-armed North Korea.

“North Korea is enhancing its nuclear and missile capabilities and has legislated the use of nuclear weapons,” Yoon said in a speech marking South Korea’s Memorial Day.

At their summit in Washington, the two leaders agreed to strengthen the so-called United States extended deterrence, which envisions using United States nuclear weapons to defend the South.

Yoon said, “The South Korea-US partners have now been elevated to a ‘nuclear-based’ alliance.”

North Korea this year test-fired its biggest intercontinental ballistic missile and last week attempted to launch its first spy satellite, although the rocket and the payload plunged into the sea.

North Korea made a rare and swift admission of the launch’s failure but vowed to try again and put a satellite in orbit to increase its army surveillance capabilities.

The launch was widely condemned as violating United Nations Security Council resolutions that restrict the use of ballistic missile technology by the North.

Pyongyang has rejected the ban as an infringement of its sovereign right to self-defence and space development.

While Yoon characterized his talks with Biden as an agreement to use United States nuclear weapons in the event of a North Korean nuclear attack, Biden reiterated a pledge “to make every effort to consult” with allies on using a nuclear weapon.

Yoon didn’t elaborate further on the subject and devoted most of his Memorial Day speech to honouring those who had made sacrifices to defend the country.

South Korea’s army has been undertaking a salvage operation at sea off the west coast to recover a substantial segment of the rocket launched by the North on May 31.

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