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South Korea (S.K.) has warned North Korea (N.K.) that it would seek to terminate the Kim Jong Un regime if nuclear weapons were used in practice. S.K. called N.K’s nuclear intimidation a “grave challenge” to the international community.
Yoon Suk Yeol is the President of S.K. He said in a speech to celebrate S.K. Armed Forces Day, “Despite repeated warnings from the international community over the past several decades, North Korea has been upgrading its nuclear and missile capabilities. Moreover, it has been blatantly threatening to use nuclear weapons. If North Korea uses nuclear weapons, its regime will be brought to an end by an overwhelming response from the Republic of Korea (ROK)-U.S. alliance.” He called N.K.’s nuclear gamble an “existential threat” to S.K. He went on to say that it posed a “grave challenge” to global peace.
The S.K. President stressed that “Our people will never be deceived by the fake peace tricks of North Korea’s communist regime, its followers and anti-state forces.” He added that S.K. will further strengthen trilateral security operations with Washington and Tokyo.
Yoon’s comments are the latest in a series of warnings amid rising tensions and N.K. accelerated provocations. N.K. just announced a new law dealing with its use of nuclear weapons in September of 2022. In the new legislation, N.K. delineated the circumstances under which nuclear weapons could be used. N.K. said that it has the option to deploy nuclear weapons not merely as a retaliatory measure, but also in a preemptive strike to bolster its deterrence capabilities.
The legislation grants N.K. the authority to use nuclear weapons preemptively in scenarios where:
• A weapon of mass destruction launch or approach is assessed,
• A nuclear or non-nuclear assault on the state leadership and the command structure of the state’s nuclear forces is initiated or deemed imminent,
• A lethal military attack on significant strategic assets of the state is initiated or imminent.
Yoon said, “The North Korean regime must clearly realize that nuclear weapons will never be able to guarantee its security.” He vowed that he would expand the scope of the U.S.-S.K. alliance into the space and cyber domains to further strengthen the allies’ capabilities.
Yoon also pinpointed the N.K. regime’s most vulnerable point. He said, “The North Korean regime’s obsession with the development of nuclear weapons aggravates the North Korean people’s suffering. It continues to exploit and oppress its people and violate their human rights.”
S.K. has indicated that it would continue to raise the issue of human rights in N.K. S.K. appointed a N.K. defector as its top policy aide earlier this month, underscoring the Yoon administration’s renewed stance towards a more hardline policy on N.K.
Yoon’s warning came a day after N.K. labeled him “politically immature”, a “diplomatic idiot” and a “trash-like head.”
This verbal exchange between the Koreas followed Yoon’s harsh message to N.K. and Russia at the U.N. General Assembly recently. He vowed that Seoul and its allies “would not just stand idly by,” if the two authoritarian states pursue military cooperation.
In a bilateral summit earlier this month, Russian President Vladimir Putin had offered to aid N.K. in perfecting his “satellite” technology.
Yoon is politically conservative. He has been seeking to align S.K.’s foreign policy stance with the U.S. to counter global challenges including N.K.’s nuclear ambitions.