(Seoul) North Korea will not hesitate to respond with nuclear weapons if it is itself “provoked” in this way, affirmed its leader Kim Jong-un, according to comments reported Thursday by a media outlet. State.
Washington, Seoul and Tokyo immediately reacted in a joint statement by urging Pyongyang to “stop carrying out new provocations and accept (their) call to engage in a substantial dialogue without preconditions”.
During a meeting between American and South Korean officials at the end of last week, Washington reaffirmed its “unwavering commitment” to Seoul by relying on its deterrent force, including nuclear power.
“Any nuclear attack” by Pyongyang on the United States or its allies would bring about the “end of the North Korean regime,” Washington warned at the time.
An American nuclear attack submarine, the USS Missourialso arrived in the South Korean port of Busan on Sunday.
Pyongyang reacted by carrying out a test firing the next day of its Hwasong-18 intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM), the most powerful in its arsenal and probably capable of reaching the entire American territory, a clear warning to Washington.
On Tuesday, Washington, Seoul and Tokyo activated a real-time data sharing system on North Korean missile launches, and military forces from the three allied countries carried out joint maneuvers on Wednesday, including American bombers.
In a separate statement Thursday, Kim Jong-un’s influential sister, Kim Yo Jong, denounced the United Nations Security Council’s decision to debate the latest firing of North Korea’s Hwasong-18 missile, saying the test was a manifestation of Pyongyang’s inherent right to self-defense.
“The frequent appearance of American nuclear weapons” in South Korea “clearly targets the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea and constitutes the root cause of the escalation of the regional situation,” thundered Kim Yo Jong again, using the official name of North Korea.