S. Korean President Says Allies in the Region are Ready to Respond to N. Korea’s Nuclear Tests

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South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol says allies in the region will jointly respond if North Korea goes ahead with a nuclear test. North Korea's actions were leading to increased defence spending in countries around the region, including Japan, and more deployment of U.S. warplanes and ships, Yoon noted.

South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol warned of an unprecedented joint response with allies if North Korea goes ahead with a nuclear test, and urged China to help dissuade the North from pursuing banned development of nuclear weapons and missiles.

 

In a wide-ranging interview with Reuters on Monday, Yoon called on China, North Korea’s closest ally, to fulfil its responsibilities as a permanent member of the U.N. Security Council. He said not doing so would lead to an influx of military assets to the region.

 

"What is sure is that China has the capability to influence North Korea, and China has the responsibility to engage in the process," Yoon said in his office. It was up to Beijing to decide whether it would exert that influence for peace and stability, he added.

 

North Korea's actions were leading to increased defence spending in countries around the region, including Japan, and more deployment of U.S. warplanes and ships, Yoon noted.

 

It is in China's interest to make its "best efforts" to induce North Korea to denuclearise, he said.

 

When asked what South Korea and its allies, the United States and Japan, would do if North Korea conducts a new nuclear test, Yoon said the response "will be something that has not been seen before", but declined to elaborate what that would entail.

 

"It would be extremely unwise for North Korea to conduct a seventh nuclear test," he told Reuters.

 

Amid a record year for missile tests, North Korean leader Kim Jong Un said this week his country intends to have the world's most powerful nuclear force. South Korean and U.S. officials say Pyongyang may be preparing to resume testing nuclear weapons for the first time since 2017.