The US is ready to support South Korea with both its nuclear and non-nuclear military capabilities, Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin stated on Wednesday.
The statement comes as tensions on the Korean Peninsula are on the rise – and just before North Korea tested an intercontinental ballistic missile on Thursday.
Washington and Seoul will be ramping up their defense cooperation and large-scale military exercises, Austin said in a Pentagon press briefing Wednesday alongside South Korean Defense Minister Kim Yong-hyun.
“I assured Minister Kim today that the United States remains fully committed to the defense of the ROK and our extended deterrence commitment remains ironclad,” Austin said. “That commitment is backed by the full range of America’s conventional missile defense, nuclear and advanced non-nuclear capabilities.”
He added that the US and South Korea will be returning “to large scale exercises” and “strengthening [their] combined readiness and our interoperability.”
North Korea has blamed Seoul and Washington’s combined military drills for the rising tensions in the region, as it views the exercises as rehearsals for a potential invasion. Earlier this month, Pyongyang destroyed roads and railways connecting the two Koreas, cutting potential ground routes into North Korea.
On Thursday, Seoul reported a possible ICBM launch by Pyongyang towards the East Sea. North Korean Leader Kim Jong-un confirmed that Pyongyang conducted an ICBM test in response to their adversaries’ “dangerous nuclear alliance.”
“The Democratic People’s Republic of Korea affirms that it will never change its course of strengthening its nuclear arsenal,” state-run news agency KCNA cited Kim as saying. He stressed that the test was an “appropriate” response to “the enemies’ dangerous nuclear alliance-strengthening maneuvers and various adventurous military activities” threatening Pyongyang’s safety.
The US also accuses North Korea of aiding Russia in the Ukraine conflict. According to the Pentagon, Pyongyang has sent 10,000 troops to Russia for training and potential deployment against Kiev. Russian President Vladimir Putin has neither confirmed nor denied the claims made by Ukraine and its backers about the North Korean troops.
Asked last week about the claims, he noted that Moscow and Pyongyang have signed a bilateral treaty which provides for military cooperation – and whether this entails more than joint drills and training is up to Russia and North Korea and no one else.