Calay News
North Korean Defense Minister Kang Sun Nam said in a statement that the deployment of the strategic nuclear submarine and other strategic assets could fall within the conditions for the use of nuclear weapons stipulated in North Korea’s law on nuclear force policy. Meanwhile, a White House official has reported that a US nuclear-armed submarine has called at a South Korean port for the first time in 40 years.
Relations between North and South Korea have been tense for decades, and the US deployment of a nuclear submarine on South Korean soil has raised concerns in the region. To strengthen defense cooperation, Seoul and Washington have held joint military exercises and recently held the first Nuclear Consultative Group (NCG) meeting in Seoul. The objective of this meeting was to improve nuclear coordination between the two allied countries and reinforce military preparation in the face of the threat from North Korea.
Notably, the last time the United States deployed a nuclear submarine in South Korea was in 1981, indicating the importance and sensitivity of this action. In April, the United States announced that it would deploy a submarine capable of launching ballistic missiles with nuclear warheads on the Korean peninsula but did not provide a specific date for this deployment. The announcement coincided with South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol’s official visit to the United States.
These actions and statements show how the nuclear issue continues to be a matter of concern and tension on the Korean Peninsula and how cooperation between South Korea and the United States seeks to address this situation and strengthen their defensive posture in the face of North Korea’s nuclear threat.
