North Korea a ‘clear and present danger,’ says South Korean Foreign Minister
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Loading... - Nicola Collins
- 23 Feb 2023
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North Korea is a “clear and present danger,” the foreign minister of South Korea has told CNN in an exclusive interview.
Kim Jong Un’s frequent missile tests and repeated warnings that he would consider using tactical nuclear weapons were a display of aggression and the only way to counter this was through extended US deterrence, Foreign Minister Park Jin said on Wednesday.
“What North Korea is doing is completely wrong,” Park said. “They have been escalating nuclear and missile threats, and threatening the peace and stability on the Korean Peninsula and Northeast Asia.”
In just the past week, North Korea has tested an intercontinental ballistic missile, which in theory could be used to strike almost anywhere in the world, and nuclear-capable long-range multiple rocket launchers – the equivalent of short-range ballistic missiles – which could hit anywhere in South Korea. Those followed a record year of missile testing in 2022, when Pyongyang tested missiles on 37 days, according to CNN’s count, all in violation of United Nations Security Council resolutions.
After the rocket launches on Monday, Kim Yo Jong, Kim Jong Un’s sister, warned of more missile tests to come unless the United States halts military drills with South Korea, threatening to make the Pacific Ocean “our shooting range.”
But Park suggested such belligerence would only strengthen South Korea’s alliance with the US.
“US extended deterrence” is “the only way that we can effectively protect our country from the North Korean aggression,” Park said, adding that enhancing that deterrence would involve “effective deployment of US strategic assets” as well as exercises and training.
On the same day as Park was speaking, guided-missile destroyers from both countries were joined by another from Japan in a ballistic missile defense exercise in the waters between Japan and the Korean Peninsula. Read More…
