“Any nuclear attack” by Pyongyang on the United States or its allies would cause the “end of the Kim regime” Jong-un, the North Korean leader, again warned Washington on Saturday, in a context of high tensions on the peninsula Korean.
The United States reaffirmed its “unwavering commitment” to Seoul, relying on “the full range of American capabilities, including nuclear” to exert a “deterrent” force, the White House said in a statement.
“Any nuclear attack by North Korea against the United States or its allies would be unacceptable and will bring about the end of the Kim Jong-un regime,” she added, following a meeting between American officials. and South Koreans, promising a “rapid, overwhelming and resolute response”.
In April, American President Joe Biden and his South Korean counterpart Yoon Suk Yeol, then visiting Washington, had already warned Pyongyang against a “nuclear response” and the “end” of the regime if the latter used its own arsenal .
South Korea, an ally of the United States and Japan on this issue, again warned North Korea on Wednesday that it would suffer “appalling destruction” if it engaged in “reckless” actions on the Korean peninsula.
Seoul, Tokyo and Washington announced last week “new trilateral initiatives” to counter Pyongyang, including an operation to share real-time data on North Korean missile launches.
For its part, North Korea put its first spy satellite into orbit last month, after threatening the United States and South Korea with being “on the brink of nuclear war” on the peninsula.
North Korea enshrined its status as a nuclear state in the Constitution in September.
In November, Washington and Seoul revised, for the first time in a decade, their 2013 strategic military agreement to allow these two allies to “deter and respond more effectively to the development of nuclear capabilities” of Pyongyang.