South Korea’s President Yoon Suk Yeol issued a fresh warning to North Korea Wednesday, as Pyongyang continued its military provocation, with missile tests potentially placing the United States and its allies within the range of its nuclear capabilities.
“The North Korean regime stands alone globally in legalizing the preemptive use of nuclear weapons, marking it as an irrational entity,” Yoon said in a pan-governmental defense meeting in Seoul.
“A rational government would relinquish nuclear arms and find means for its people to thrive. However, the North Korean regime is recklessly dedicated to preserving its inherited totalitarian rule.
“Recently, by engaging in arms deals with Russia, North Korea is blatantly and flagrantly ignoring international law and UN Security Council resolutions. This too is a highly provocative act, posing a threat not only to global security but also to the security of the Korean Peninsula.”
The pan-governmental meeting “showcases the collective resolve of the people in issuing a warning to North Korea,” Yoon added.
“We need to enhance our readiness even more to guarantee that our citizens can engage in economic and social pursuits with a sense of security and tranquility.”
The conservative Yoon administration has been implementing a hardline policy towards Pyongyang, with his government openly vowing to respond to the North’s military provocation.
For instance, when North Korea launched some 200 artillery shells into waters off its western coast near South Korea’s Baengnyeong and Yeonpyeong islands earlier this month, Seoul reciprocated by conducting “naval fire” drills.
Yoon’s latest comments come as North Korea on Wednesday confirmed a cruise missile test.
“The Korean People’s Army [KPA] staged a drill of launching strategic cruise missile ‘Hwasal-2’ in the West Sea of Korea on January 30,” North Korea’s official Korean Central News Agency said.
“The drill made a contribution to checking the KPA’s rapid counterattack posture and improving its strategic striking capability and had no adverse effect on the security of a neighboring country,” it added, without further elaboration.
According to South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff Tuesday, the North fired multiple “unidentified cruise missiles” off its western coast at around 7 a.m. Although cruise missiles are not banned by the United Nations, the test increases the level of nuclear threat to South Korea and Japan due to their geographical proximity.
North Korea also test-fired submarine-launched cruise missiles Sunday, with leader Kim Jong Un ordering officials to expedite his country’s nuclear submarine development.
Earlier this month, Kim and his daughter Ju Ae visited an intercontinental ballistic missile, or ICBM, mobile launcher vehicle factory, signaling Pyongyang’s will to put the U.S. mainland on its nuclear radar.
Edited by Mike Firn and Taejun Kang.