Nuke use by North would mean end of regime: U.S.

The Pentagon reiterated that the use of nuclear weapons by North Korea would spell the end of the totalitarian regime. “I think we’ve been very clear that were North Korea to employ a nuclear weapon it would be the end of the North Korean regime…

Pentagon spokesman Air Force Brig. Gen. Patrick Ryder speaks during a briefing at the Pentagon in Washington on Tuesday [AP/YONHAP]

The Pentagon reiterated that the use of nuclear weapons by North Korea would spell the end of the totalitarian regime.

“I think we’ve been very clear that were North Korea to employ a nuclear weapon it would be the end of the North Korean regime,” said Pentagon press secretary Brig. Gen. Pat Ryder on Tuesday. “Our focus continues to be on working very closely with our allies and our partners in the region to deter aggression, to preserve stability and security in the region and that will continue to be our focus.”

He was speaking to the press after North Korea launched two short-range ballistic missiles from its western coast into the East Sea on Tuesday.

The two SRBMs were launched from Changyon, South Hwanghae Province, at 7:41 a.m. and 7:51 a.m., and landed in waters east of the Korean Peninsula, according to the Joint Chiefs of Staff.

North Korea’s mouthpiece Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) also reported Wednesday that it launched two ground-to-ground ballistic missiles in a demonstration firing drill on Tuesday, vowing to "annihilate the enemy.”

“The missiles fired in an area around Jangyon County of South Hwanghae Province precisely hit the target, Phi Islet, in the waters off Pangjin-dong, Chongam District, Chongjin City of North Hamgyong Province, located 611.4kms away from the fired spot,” said the KCNA on Wednesday.

This photo provided by the North Korean state media KCNA shows what it says is a ballistic missile the country test-fired on Tuesday. [AP/YONHAP]

The launches took place as the South Korea-U.S. joint excercise Freedom Shield began earlier this week.

Ned Price, spokesperson for the U.S. State Department, said in a briefing in Washington D.C. on Tuesday that the launches change nothing in the ongoing joint training schedule.

“I’m not in a position today to say whether any of the exercises you refer to would be implicated as part of those practical steps,” said Price, in response to a question on whether there is a possibility that Washington and Seoul could tone down their joint exercises if North Korea decides to engage in diplomacy.

“We’re always going to have an ironclad commitment to the security of our treaty allies, including the ROK and Japan in this case,” he added. “We’re always going to remain committed to the extended deterrence that we afford to our treaty allies.”

The Freedom Shield exercise is being conducted over an 11-day period through March 23 and will integrate elements of "live exercises," according to the U.S. Forces Korea (USFK).

Participating units include elements of the South Korean military, USFK, United Nations Command and the Combined Forces Commands, which will engage in 20 field drills, including the Ssangyong amphibious exercise, for the large-scale Warrior Shield field-maneuver exercise.

The exercise will be the longest command post exercise to date and the largest joint exercise in five years.

Tuesday’s missiles marked North Korea's second launch this week and fifth ballistic missile launch of the year.

Both missiles were modified variants of the North’s Iskander-type short-range ballistic missiles, according to the South Korean military.

They are known as KN-23s by U.S. military intelligence.

BY ESTHER CHUNG [chung.juhee@joongang.co.kr]