WASHINGTON (AP) – The U.S. and South Korea jointly warned North Korea Thursday that using any kind of nuclear weapon against Seoul or other regional allies would result in the end of Kim Jong Un’s regime, as Pyongyang continued to rattle the peninsula with escalation. missile tests.
North Korea has fired more than two dozen missiles in the past two days in response to US-South Korean military exercises that began on Monday. The launches sent South Koreans scrambling for shelter and further frayed the nerves of a population already mourning the loss of more than 150 people in a horrific crowd crush on Halloween.
Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin and South Korean Defense Minister Lee Jong-sup, after meeting Thursday at the Pentagon, issued a joint statement saying they “strongly condemned” North Korea’s escalating military posture, including ballistic missile tests, multiple missile launches and coastal artillery.
In response to the launches, the US extended the Vigilant Storm military exercise, which was scheduled to last until Friday, November 4. Late Thursday, the Pentagon announced that the extension will now last until Saturday, depending on the security environment.
“Our combined air exercise with the ROK is currently extended through November 5,” the Pentagon said in a statement emailed to reporters. “We remain in close coordination with our ROK ally on any additional changes and the security environment on the Korean Peninsula. Our commitment to the defense of the ROK is ironclad.”
At the Pentagon, both defense chiefs stressed that any use of nuclear weapons, including lower-yield tactical nuclear devices against Seoul or other regional allies such as Japan, would “result in the end of the Kim Jong Un regime by its overwhelming and decisive response.” the alliance,” Lee said at a joint news conference with Austin.
Austin also said North Korea’s increased aggression would not result in the permanent relocation of additional US troops or strategic assets to the region, but that Kim would see an additional US military presence rotated there.
In its launches on Thursday, North Korea launched an intercontinental ballistic missile, prompting swift condemnation from the White House, which accused Pyongyang of “destabilizing the security situation in the region.”
Tensions between the US and North Korea have also risen following recently declassified reports that it is providing artillery to Russia for use against Ukraine.
North Korea was sending an undisclosed number of artillery shells to Russia, but was “trying to make it look like they were being sent to countries in the Middle East or North Africa,” National Security Council spokesman John Kirby said.
North Korea has responded to previous US-South Korean military exercises with missile tests, which was one reason former President Donald Trump called for a halt to the drills for more than a year as he unsuccessfully negotiated with the North Korean leader to end his pursuit of nukes. arms.
Large-scale US-South Korean military exercises have resumed this year. Vigilant Storm — which includes more than 1,600 sorties by the U.S. and South Korea involving about 240 warplanes — is the largest such exercise to date, according to the Pentagon.
Park Yong-chon, secretary of the North’s Workers’ Party who is seen as a confidant of Kim Jong-un, called the US-South Korean air drills “aggressive and provocative”.
“If the US and South Korea attempt to use armed forces against (North Korea) without any fear, the (North’s) armed forces’ special means will carry out their strategic mission without delay,” Park said, in an apparent reference of country’s nuclear weapons.
North Korea has been testing a series of nuclear-capable missiles in recent months and passed a law allowing for the preemptive use of its nuclear weapons in a wide range of situations. Some experts still doubt that North Korea would use nuclear weapons first against US and South Korean forces.
Ballistic missile tests on Wednesday included at least 23 missiles as well as about 100 artillery shells fired into an eastern maritime security zone. South Korea’s military said the 23 weapons were all short-range ballistic missiles or suspected surface-to-air missiles.
One of the ballistic missiles was flying toward South Korea’s Ulleung Island before eventually landing 167 kilometers (104 miles) northwest of the island. South Korea’s military has issued an airstrike alert on the island, according to the South Korean General Staff. South Korean media published photos of islanders being moved to underground shelters.
Japanese Defense Minister Yasukazu Hamada said at least two ballistic missiles fired by North Korea showed a possibly “erratic” trajectory. This suggested the missiles were the North’s highly maneuverable, nuclear-capable KN-23 missile, which was modeled after Russia’s Iskander missile.
In response to the missile barrage, South Korea quickly fired its own missiles into the same border area.
