US, Japan, and S Korea warn retaliation if North Korea conducts a nuclear test

• The US, Japan and South Korea have warned of an “unprecedented magnitude of retaliation” if North Korea conducts a seventh nuclear test.
• It would be the first time since 2017 that North Korea has conducted a nuclear test.
• This year, North Korea has conducted weapons tests at an unprecedented rate.

The United States, Japan, and South Korea have warned that if North Korea conducts its seventh nuclear weapon test, a level of response that is “unparalleled” will be necessary.

The US and its regional allies were worried that North Korea might be about to resume nuclear bomb testing for the first time since 2017. This is why the warning was made on Wednesday.

Cho Hyun-dong, the first vice foreign minister of South Korea, said during a news conference in Tokyo that “we agreed that if North Korea pushes forward with a seventh nuclear test, an unprecedented magnitude of retaliation would be necessary.”

Along with US Deputy Secretary of State Wendy Sherman and Japan’s Vice Foreign Minister Takeo Mori, Cho spoke.

This year, North Korea has conducted weapons tests at an unprecedented rate, launching over twenty short- and medium-range ballistic missiles, including one that flew over Japan, in recent weeks.

Sherman called the North’s actions “reckless” and severely destabilizing for the region, urging it to avoid from additional provocations.

Sherman added that the US will defend its allies South Korea and Japan using all of its military resources, “including nuclear, conventional, and missile defense.”

North Korea must comprehend that the US is “iron clad” in its commitment to the security of South Korea and Japan, she said.

Including nuclear, conventional, and missile defense capabilities, she added, “we will utilize the full range of US defense capabilities to defend our friends.”

Sherman also reaffirmed that the US was continuing to “seek serious and ongoing discussion with the DPRK,” which is North Korea’s official name, according to a statement from US State Department spokesman Ned Price.

Cho expressed worry to Sherman during their conversations that a new nuclear weapons policy implemented by North Korea in September raises the likelihood of its arbitrary use of nuclear weapons.

On the Korean peninsula, this is causing significant tension, according to Cho.

In reaction to a North Korean ballistic missile test, the USS Ronald Reagan and accompanying ships engaged in joint military training with South Korean forces in September. This was the first such exercise featuring a US aircraft carrier since 2017.

Pyongyang launched hundreds of artillery shells off its shores last week in what it described as a dire warning to its neighbor to the south after becoming enraged by South Korea’s military exercises.

In a meeting with Mori earlier on Tuesday, Sherman underlined the importance of the US-Japan alliance as well as other shared objectives, such as the total denuclearization of North Korea and their response to China’s increasingly assertive actions in the region.

Yasukazu Hamada, the defense minister of Japan, recently stated that North Korea is thought to have successfully miniaturized nuclear warheads while also significantly enhancing its missile capabilities through the diversification of its launch technologies, which makes interceptions more challenging.

Japan has joined South Korea in expressing concern over the potential imminence of a nuclear test by North Korea.

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Great to see Foreign Minister Hayashi, Vice Foreign Minister Mori, and First Vice Foreign Minister Cho in Tokyo. Together, the U.S., ROK, and Japan are addressing security challenges in the Indo-Pacific and beyond. https://t.co/rHNNb4qZmf pic.twitter.com/ymrYvFejjn

— Wendy R. Sherman (@DeputySecState) October 25, 2022

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