South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol is in Washington for a six-day state visit. American President Joe Biden and Suk Yeol, on Wednesday, unveiled a new plan to counter North Korea's nuclear threat, with the US leader issuing a blunt warning that such an attack would result in the end of whatever regime took such action.
Biden, at a joint news conference at the White House, called the alliance 'ironclad', CNN reported. “Our mutual defence treaty is iron clad and that includes our commitment to extend a deterrence – and that includes the nuclear threat, the nuclear deterrent,” Biden said.
“They’re particularly important in the face of DPRK’s increased threats and the blatant violation of US sanctions,” he added.
There have been discussions between officials from both countries for several months. North Korea, since the beginning of this year, has conducted close to 10 missile tests, with about a dozen being fired in March itself. The agreement between Seoul and Washington would mean the regular deployment of strategic assets like a US nuclear ballistic submarine visit to South Korea, which has not happened since the early 1980s.
Suk Yeol said that the new commitment by the righteous alliance includes plans for bilateral presidential consultations in the event of a North Korean nuclear attack, the establishment of a nuclear consultative group and improved sharing of information on nuclear and strategic weapons operation plans.
“We’re not going to be stationing nuclear weapons on the peninsula, but we will have visits to ports, visits of nuclear submarines and things like that,” Biden said.
– With PTI inputs
