North Korea Nuclear Threat Addressed In US-South Korea Pact
The North Korea nuclear threat was at the heart of a pact between the United States and South Korea. The pact is aimed at deterring the North’s possible use of nuclear arms and other weapons of mass destruction.
Defense ministers from both nations announced the pact on Wednesday, adding that they also agreed to review the timing of the transfer of war-time command control of their combined forces on the peninsula from the US military to South Korea.
The transfer will take place in 2015, though some in South Korea called for a delay because of North Korea’s push for nuclear weapons and long-range missiles.
North Korea conducted a third nuclear test in February and restarted one of its nuclear reactors last month. In recent months, the reclusive nation also launched a long-range rocket and put an object into space. Pyongyang announced the object was a satellite.
The pact was signed during US Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel’s annual security meeting with South Korea’s minister of national defense, Kim Kwan Jin. Hagel explained the new pact was needed, “not only because of our mutual defense treaty, but also because of our firm view that North Korea’s policies and provocations pose a serious threat to regional stability and global security.”
Hagel also stated, “Of particular concern are North Korea’s nuclear and ballistic missile programs, its proliferation activities, and its chemical weapons.” The new strategy will be one of “tailored deterrence” against North Korea’s nuclear threat.
The ministers didn’t elaborate on what the deterrence strategy could entail. Hagel only explained it was made by the recent push by the North to create nuclear weapons. He added, “It has increased its capabilities, its missile capabilities, its three nuclear tests. So that is constantly forcing a review of our strategies.”
After signing the pact regarding the North Korean nuclear threat, Hagel headed to Japan to attending meeting with Secretary of State John Kerry and the Japanese foreign and defense ministers.
[Image via ShutterStock]
