S. Korea seeks US Strategic Weapons after North’s Nuclear Test

Local Editor

A South Korean military official said Thursday, one day after North Korea said it successfully tested a hydrogen nuclear device, that South Korea is in talks with the US to deploy American strategic assets on the Korean peninsula.

However, the United States and weapons experts voiced doubts the device was as advanced as North Korea claimed, but calls mounted for more sanctions against the isolated state for its rogue nuclear program.

In the context, the South Korean military official stated that the two countries discussed the deployment of US strategic assets on the divided Korean peninsula, but declined to give further details.

It was back in 2013, after North Korea last tested a nuclear device, that Washington sent a pair of nuclear-capable B-2 stealth bombers on a sortie over South Korea in a show of force. At the time, North Korea responded by threatening a nuclear strike on the United States.

Technically in a state of war against the North, South Korea said it was not considering a nuclear deterrent of its own, despite calls from ruling party leaders.

However, defense policy expert at the Washington-based Center for Strategic and International Studies, Anthony Cordesman considered that: "The United States is limited in its military response for fear of provoking an unpredictable regime in Pyongyang."

"Any escalation in this region, any over-reaction can easily lead to not only a conflict between South and North Korea, but drag China and the US and Japan into a confrontation as well," Cordesman said.

In parallel, few hours after Wednesday nuclear test, the UN Security Council said it would work immediately on significant new measures against North Korea. Diplomats said that could mean an expansion of sanctions against Pyongyang, although major powers might baulk at an all-out economic offensive.

Source: News Agencies, Edited by website team