SEUL, Jul 20 North Korean Defense Minister Kang Soon Nam said that the US strategic nuclear submarine entering the port of Busan in South Korea can theoretically be attributed sufficient conditions for the use of nuclear weapons by Pyongyang, and also promised that the armed forces of the DPRK would suppress all attempts by the United States and its allies to use nuclear weapons on the Korean Peninsula and start a war, the DPRK Central News Agency (CTAC) reports.
In a statement, the minister criticized South Korea's entry into the port of Busan of a US Ohio-class strategic nuclear submarine, calling it the first deployment of strategic nuclear weapons on the Korean Peninsula in more than 40 years and «an outright and direct nuclear threat.»
«This shows that the US attempts to launch a nuclear attack against the DPRK and their implementation have entered the most serious phase of activation and systematization, and the prospects for a military clash on the Korean Peninsula have become a dangerous reality, going beyond all imagination and assumptions,» the minister said.
He noted that no one can deny the «serious and dangerous security situation» in which the DPRK finds itself and which has changed «dramatically» because of the «military excesses» of the United States and its satellites. The minister added that North Korea «knows exactly» the purpose of deploying large US strategic weapons on the Korean Peninsula and what mission Pyongyang's nuclear weapons should serve.
«I remind the US military that a significant increase in the deployment of strategic assets (on the Korean Peninsula — ed.), including a strategic nuclear submarine, can be attributed to the conditions for the use of nuclear weapons defined in the DPRK Nuclear Forces Policy Law,» the minister said. , emphasizing that the United States «has entered dangerous waters,» and the DPRK's nuclear doctrine allows for the necessary actions in the event of a «commission or approach» of a nuclear attack against the country.
According to Kang Soon Nam, the DPRK armed forces will «consistently suppress and repel the reckless attempts of the United States and its minions» to use nuclear weapons on the Korean Peninsula in order to protect the sovereignty, territorial integrity and basic interests of the DPRK, prevent a nuclear war on the Korean Peninsula and in Northeast Asia.
AN UNDERWATER THREAT
During a press conference following the first meeting of South Korea's Nuclear Advisory Group with the United States (NCG), Kurt Campbell, Coordinator of the US National Security Council for the Indo-Pacific region, announced that an American strategic nuclear submarine with Ohio-class ballistic missiles of the US Navy had arrived in Busan USS Kentucky. The day before, the president of South Korea visited her with a delegation, and again threatened Pyongyang with a «collapse of the regime» in the event of «nuclear provocations.» The delegation listened to a briefing on the capabilities of the submarine and its contribution to the US extended nuclear deterrence and the alliance's joint defense strategy.
According to the US military, the visit of the submarine confirms the continued commitment of the United States to expanded deterrence and maintaining the capabilities necessary to ensure that any nuclear attack by the DPRK against the Republic of Korea is met with a prompt, overwhelming and decisive response.
In June, it was already reported that on June 16, the day after the DPRK launched two short-range ballistic missiles towards the Sea of Japan (East) Sea, the American Ohio-class strategic nuclear submarine USS Michigan, armed with guided missiles, arrived at the Korean Peninsula and conducted exercises with the South Korean Navy. This marks the first time the US has sent a submarine of this class to South Korea since October 2017.
Following a summit in the United States in April, South Korean leaders adopted the Washington Declaration, which calls for the creation of a nuclear advisory group to strengthen extended deterrence, develop specific plans for its use, discuss nuclear and strategic planning, and respond to threats to the nonproliferation regime from North Korea. The parties reaffirmed their commitment to strengthening relations between the two countries in the field of joint defense. South Korea also secured a US promise to promptly deploy «the entire force of the alliance,» including nuclear weapons, in the event of a nuclear attack by the DPRK.
South Korean President Yoon Seok-yeol also said that the United States will deploy strategic weapons on the Korean Peninsula in a «permanent and routine» manner, and Biden confirmed that American nuclear submarines will periodically enter South Korean ports.