Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said during a meeting with his South Korean counterpart Thursday that any North Korean nuclear attack against the United States or others would “result in the end of the Kim regime.” The statement came hours after Pyongyang tested a new intercontinental ballistic missile, again raising tensions in the region.
“Any nuclear attack against the United States or its Allies and partners, including the use of non-strategic nuclear weapons, is unacceptable and will result in the end of the Kim regime,” Austin said during a meeting with Lee Jong-sup at the Pentagon on Thursday, according to a joint communique released by the Defense Department.
The administration included similar language in its National Defense Strategy, which the Pentagon released last week.
Both Austin and Lee told reporters after the meeting they were concerned about Pyongyang’s recent missile launches.
Austin said the tests are “destabilizing to the region,” and called on Pyongyang to “cease that type of activity and to begin to engage in serious dialogue.” However, he noted that the Pentagon does not currently have any plans to change its posture in the region.
The meeting comes as Pyongyang continues to provoke outrage from its Pacific neighbors with a multi-day barrage of missile launches. The new round of tests, which occurred Thursday morning local time, appeared to include a failed intercontinental ballistic missile. The government of Japan initially warned that the missile would fly over Japan, but Tokyo’s defense ministry later said that had not occurred. The missile traveled about 466 miles before falling into the sea of Japan, far shorter than a March launch of the same missile that traveled over 1,000 miles.
The Thursday tests came a day after North Korea fired a daily record of 23 missiles on Wednesday, drawing quick condemnation from Washington, Seoul and Tokyo.
Within hours of the latest test, the U.S. and South Korea announced they would extend an air force exercise that had been scheduled to run Monday to Friday this week. South Korea’s air force said the exercise was being extended “with respect to the North’s recent provocations.”
The long-planned drills have angered Pyongyang, which has called them a provocation.
The Vigilant Storm exercise involves around 240 aircraft from the U.S. Air Force, Marine Corps, Navy and Army, along with South Korean fighters. The militaries plan to launch 1,600 sorties, which is the largest ever for the annual event.
Biden administration officials have offered to meet their North Korean counterparts without preconditions, including potential meetings in Pyongyang. North Korea has yet to respond positively to the offer, and instead has increased the rate of weapons tests. Washington, Seoul and Tokyo expect Pyongyang to conduct its seventh nuclear test in the near future.
