North Korean Regime Would ‘End’ If It Launches Nuclear Attack, Biden Warns

U.S. President Joe Biden has warned of dire consequences for North Korea’s regime if it launches a nuclear attack, as he seeks to reassure South Korea of Washington’s commitment to defending its ally against the threat from the North.

“A nuclear attack by North Korea against the United States or its allies or partners is unacceptable and will result in the end of whatever regime, were it to take such an action,” Biden said on Wednesday at a joint news conference after meeting his South Korean counterpart, President Yoon Suk-yeol, in the White House.

Biden said the U.S. alliance with South Korea is “ironclad” and includes a commitment to deter North Korea from an attack.

The remarks came as the U.S. and South Korea announced an agreement to counter nuclear threats from the North. Washington agreed to deploy nuclear-armed submarines to South Korea and allow Seoul to join its nuclear planning operations. 

In the event of a nuclear attack by Pyongyang, the two countries promised to “respond swiftly, overwhelmingly, and decisively using the full force of the alliance including the United States’ nuclear weapons,” Yoon said at the news conference.

The U.S. and South Korea cite their rising concern about the threat posed by North Korea’s growing arsenal of nuclear weapons, including missiles that could strike the continental U.S. They believe that the new measures will make a nuclear conflict with the North less likely.

For its part, Seoul said it would observe the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty and refrain from developing its own nuclear arms. A majority of South Koreans believe the country needs its own nuclear weapons, citing threats from both its northern neighbor as well as an increasingly assertive China.

Under the leadership of Kim Jong Un, North Korea has ramped up its missile tests and has threatened to use its weapons “anytime and anywhere.” In March, it unveiled tactical nuclear warheads that could fit on short-range missiles, weapons that analysts said pose grave threats to South Korea.

On Wednesday night, Yoon and Biden put on a show of their friendship at a state dinner in the White House. Yoon, who had spoken through a translator in his public appearances all day, belted out the first verse of the 70s classic “American Pie” to an impressed crowd.

“I had no damn idea you could sing,” Biden said to Yoon.

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