North Korean leader, Kim Jong Un warned that his government will not hesitate to launch a nuclear attack on the US if ‘provoked with nukes.’
He made the warning after a meeting between South Korea and the United States was held last week in Washington, where they discussed nuclear deterrence in the event of conflict with the North.
‘Nuclear and strategic planning’ was on the agenda for the conference, and the allies reaffirmed that Pyongyang’s use of nuclear weapons against the US or South Korea would lead to the collapse of the North Korean regime.
However, Pyongyang’s official Korean Central News Agency stated on Thursday that Kim instructed his military’s missile bureau “not to hesitate (launching) even a nuclear attack when the enemy provokes it with nukes.”
Shortly afterward, a joint statement from Washington, Seoul, and Tokyo called on the nuclear-armed nation to’stop conducting additional provocations and accept our demand for engaging in constructive discussion without preconditions’.
In response to Pyongyang’s unprecedented string of weapon testing this year, the three nations have increased their defense cooperation. On Tuesday, they turned on a system that allows them to exchange real-time information about North Korean missile launches.
Launching the Hwasong-18, the most potent intercontinental ballistic missile to date, the North later justified the missile launch as “a warning counter-measure” against what it saw as ongoing acts of “military threat” by Washington and its allies.
It followed the arrival of a US nuclear-powered submarine in the port city of Busan, South Korea, last week, and the US flying long-range bombers in drills with Seoul and Tokyo on Wednesday.