Nuclear weapons remain at the center of global headlines, as a new development reveals that a high-ranking South Korean official has stated with certainty that the United States would use nuclear weapons against Kim Jong Un’s DPRK (North Korea) if Seoul was threatened.
It was Lee Jong-seok, South Korea’s nominee for director of the National Intelligence Service, who made the statement. He said that his country believes Washington would not hesitate to deliver a tit-for-tat response if North Korea launched a nuclear strike on South Korea. Lee made the comment during his nomination hearing, according to a Reuters report.
When asked whether he believed Washington would strike North Korea to defend Seoul—risking a direct confrontation with Kim Jong Un—Lee gave a firm and unequivocal answer: “Yes.”
Can North Korean missiles strike USA?
North Korea has pursued a nuclear weapons program for years and is believed to have stockpiled enough fissile material to build atomic bombs. Although it has not tested a missile armed with a nuclear warhead, experts believe Pyongyang possesses the capability to strike the U.S. mainland with nuclear-armed missiles. The country currently has Intercontinental Ballistic Missiles (ICBMs) capable of reaching the entire continental United States, with estimated ranges exceeding 15,000 km, depending on the warhead’s weight.
Meanwhile, other reports have stated that the DPRK had achieved this feat as early as 2019. According to these reports, the United States Forces Korea (USFK)—which is responsible for supporting and training joint Korea-U.S. forces and United Nations Command multinational forces—was quoted in 2019 as saying that the Hwasong‑15 ICBM is capable of striking any part of the continental United States, with an estimated range of approximately 12,874 km.
Lee Jong-seok has been nominated to lead South Korea’s National Intelligence Service under the new liberal President Lee Jae Myung, who took office on June 4.