If Kim Jong Un uses nuclear weapons, ’his regime will be brought to end’: South Korean President

Warned North Korea, South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol said its regime would be ended by Seoul and Washington if it used nuclear weapons, reported Bloomberg, as the South Korean chief was speaking at the 75th anniversary of the founding of his country’s military.

The South Korean president celebrated the long-standing alliance with the US to mark Armed Forces Day and agreements he reached with President Joe Biden to strengthen consultations on the deployment of American nuclear assets to the region to deter Kim Jong Un from trying to launch a strike.

“If North Korea uses nuclear weapons, its regime will be brought to an end by an overwhelming response from the ROK-US alliance,” Yoon said on Tuesday, slamming Pyongyang for its pursuit of atomic arms, saying its people are paying the price.

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“The North Korean regime’s obsession with the development of nuclear weapons aggravates the North Korean people’s suffering,” Yoon said. “The North Korean regime must realize that nuclear weapons will never be able to guarantee its security.”

To mark the anniversary, South Korea held its first military parade in a decade in Seoul that featured thousands of troops and its latest military hardware such as domestically made long-range surface-to-air missiles. Due to bad weather, KF-21 fighter jets, next-generation light-armed helicopters that were supposed to be featured at an airshow beforehand, were grounded.

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The event included displays of drones from a newly established unmanned aerial vehicle command and highlighted the country’s 70-year military alliance with the US.

Festivities at the airbase in the morning were attended by more than 10,000 people, including veterans of the 1950-1953 Korean War from 19 different countries and their families.

The Republic of Korea held a parade every five years to mark its Armed Forces Day, however, it was not conducted under then-President Moon Jae-in in 2018 as he sought rapprochement with North Korea.

Meanwhile, Pyongyang has held several parades under Kim Jong Un, showing off its latest nuclear-capable missiles designed to strike South Korea and deliver warheads to the US mainland.

In April, when US President Joe Biden met Yoon at the White House, he said a North Korean nuclear attack on the US and its allies would be the end of Kim’s regime as he announced new efforts with South Korea to counter Pyongyang’s nuclear buildup.

North Korea has denounced Yoon as a “puppet traitor” and stepped up its provocations in displays of anger at joint military drills between the US and South Korea.

With agency inputs.