S. Korea hits back after N. Korea warns against U.S. nuclear submarine visit, NCG

▲ The USS Kentucky, a nuclear-powered ballistic missile submarine, docks at the South Korean naval operations base in Busan, 320 kilometers southeast of Seoul, on July 19, 2023. President Yoon Suk Yeol inspected the submarine the same day. (Pool photo) (Yonhap)

defense ministry-NK statement

S. Korea hits back after N. Korea warns against U.S. nuclear submarine visit, NCG

SEOUL, July 21 (Yonhap) -- South Korea warned Friday that North Korea will face the "end" of its regime in the event of a nuclear attack after it said the deployment of a U.S. nuclear-capable submarine and other strategic assets here could meet the conditions for its use of nuclear arms.

Seoul's defense ministry renewed the warning after Pyongyang's Defense Minister Kang Sun-nam issued a sharp-tongued statement the previous day, criticizing the arrival of the USS Kentucky, an 18,750-ton Ohio-class nuclear ballistic missile submarine (SSBN), in South Korea and the inaugural meeting of the South Korea-U.S. Nuclear Consultative Group (NCG) this week.

"In the event of any North Korean nuclear attack against the South Korea-U.S. alliance, it will face an immediate, overwhelming and decisive response from the alliance, and through this, (we) warn strongly again that (the attack) will result in the end of the North Korean regime," the ministry said in a statement.

The USS Kentucky arrived in the southeastern port city of Busan on Tuesday. Its arrival coincided with the first NCG session. The U.S. pledged to enhance the "regular visibility" of its high-profile military assets, including SSBNs, in the Washington Declaration that Presidents Yoon Suk Yeol and Joe Biden issued during their summit in April.

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