S Korea warns of "resolute and overwhelming" response if N Korea attempts to use nuke weapons
Oct 01, 2024
Seoul [South Korea], October 1 : South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol has warned of a "resolute and overwhelming" retaliation from the South Korea-US alliance if North Korea attempts to use nuclear weapons.
Addressing the 76th Armed Forces Day ceremony on Tuesday, Yoon said that North Korea will face the end of its regime if Pyongyang attempts nuclear warfare, as per the Yonhap news outlet.
The remarks by the South Korean President came after the country's Northern rival earlier last month published photographs of its uranium enrichment facility as well as images of centrifuges that produce fuel for its nuclear bombs.
North Korea's nuclear programme is banned under multiple United Nations Security Council resolutions.
North Korea also launched multiple short-range ballistic missiles recently.
In his address to his country's Armed Forces today the South Korean President was cited by Yonhap as saying, "If North Korea attempts to use nuclear weapons, it will face the resolute and overwhelming response of our military and the South Korea-U.S. alliance. That day will be the end of the North Korean regime."
He urged North Korean leader Kim Jong-un regime to abandon "delusions" that nuclear weapons guarantee its security, vowing to build a strong military and strengthen the security posture based on the strong alliance with the US, as well as trilateral cooperation involving Japan.
At South Korea's Armed Forces Day ceremony Seoul displayed 340 pieces of military equipment, including Hyunmoo surface-to-surface missiles, the Long-range Surface-to-Air Missile (L-SAM) system, K9 self-propelled howitzers and quadruped robots
It featured Hyunmoo-5, a centerpiece of the Korea Massive Punishment and Retaliation (KMPR) is known to be able to carry a conventional warhead weighing 8-9 tons and capable of destroying underground bunkers in North Korea, Yonhap reported.
The ceremony also launched the a new military command of South Korea, the 'Strategic Command' which is tasked with serving as an overarching organ with its key weapons systems to deter North Korean nuclear and missile threats.
South Korea had first announced plans to create the unit in the year 2022.
The unit, headed by Air Force Lt. Gen. Jin Young-sung is expected to serve as a counterpart to the US Strategic Command.
South Korean President Yoon said the command, will integrate his country's military's advanced conventional capabilities with the extended deterrence of the US, a key military ally of South Korea.
The two countries have sought to integrate their military capabilities under the bilateral Nuclear Consultative Group to bolster deterrence against North Korean threats.