Alliance will take regime down if North Korea uses nuclear weapons

President Yoon Suk Yeol is marching during the Armed Forces Day ceremony. [Photo by Lee Seung-hwan]

South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol issued a strong warning to North Korea against Pyeongyang’s use of nuclear weapons while pledging to build a strong military that instills fear in the country’s adversaries that has the public’s trust.

“If North Korea uses nuclear weapons, its regime will collapse by the South Korea-U.S. alliance’s overwhelming response,” Yoon said during the 75th Armed Forces Day ceremony held at Seoul Air Base in Seongnam, Gyeonggi Province, on Tuesday. “The North Korean regime must clearly understand that nuclear weapons do not guarantee its security.”

Referring to the “Washington Declaration” he announced with U.S. President Joe Biden in April, Yoon said that the South Korea-U.S. alliance has been upgraded to a “nuclear-based alliance” by combining U.S. nuclear capabilities with South Korea’s non-nuclear assets. “The constant deployment of U.S. strategic assets on the Korean Peninsula will strengthen the deterrence against North Korea,” Yoon stressed, reflecting on the significance of the 70-year South Korea-U.S. alliance.

Yoon further expressed his commitment to building a strong military that instills fear in adversaries and wins the public’s trust, saying, “As commander-in-chief of the armed forces, I will do my best to build a strong military.”

“Our people will never be deceived by North Korea’s fake peace tricks,” Yoon said.

During the ceremony, the South Korean military unveiled new weapons to the public for the first time, including indigenously developed high-powered Hyunmoo missiles and long-range surface-to-air interceptors (L-SAMs) aimed at countering North Korea’s nuclear and missile threats. The military also held its first Armed Forces Day parade in a decade, which marched through one of Seoul’s main commercial and business districts. Yoon was present at the parade, becoming the first sitting president to participate in a citywide parade on Armed Forces Day.