00:00 South Korea has warned North Korea that any nuclear attack from the latter's side would
00:08 mean an end of the Kim Jong-un-led regime.
00:12 This comes after Pyongyang threatened nuclear retaliation over growing US military deployments
00:18 on the peninsula.
00:19 Pyongyang had said that the deployment of a US nuclear-capable submarine and other strategic
00:25 assets could meet the conditions for its use of nuclear arms.
00:29 Relations between the two Koreas are at one of the lowest points ever, with the North
00:34 ramping up weapons testing as Seoul and Washington boost military cooperation.
00:39 Seoul's defense ministry renewed the warning after Pyongyang's defense minister Kang Sun-nam
00:46 issued a sharp-tongued statement the previous day criticizing the arrival of the USS Kentucky,
00:52 an 18,750-ton Ohio-class nuclear ballistic missile submarine, in South Korea and the
00:59 inaugural meeting of the South Korea-US Nuclear Consultative Group this week.
01:04 The USS Kentucky arrived in the southeastern port city of Busan on Tuesday.
01:09 Its arrival coincided with the first NCG session aimed at strengthening the credibility of
01:15 the extended deterrence commitment by the US to use the full range of its military capabilities,
01:21 including nuclear, to defend its ally.
01:23 The Seoul ministry warned, "In the event of any North Korean nuclear attack against
01:29 the South Korea-US alliance, it will face an immediate, overwhelming and decisive response
01:35 from the alliance, and we strongly warn again that through this, the attack will result
01:40 in the end of the North Korean regime."
01:43 The ministry defended the NCG gathering and the SSBN's deployment as a rightful defensive
01:48 measure against North Korea's continued nuclear and missile threats, dismissing the
01:53 North's claim that they posed a nuclear threat to the recalcitrant country.
01:58 It also said Pyongyang's nuclear program and missile provocations are clear violations
02:03 of the UN Security Council resolutions and illicit activities, noting that the country
02:08 is the only one that repeats threats of a nuclear attack against South Korea-US alliance.
02:14 South Korea's statement comes as an American soldier, Travis King, is believed to be in
02:18 North Korean custody after crossing the border during a tourist trip to the joint security
02:23 area in the demilitarized zone on Tuesday.
02:26 Pyongyang has a long history of detaining Americans and using them as bargaining chips
02:31 in bilateral ties.
02:33 It has not yet issued any comment on King.
02:36 Tensions have heightened as Pyongyang has continued its sabre-rattling, such as its
02:41 launches of an intercontinental ballistic missile on July 12 and two short-range ballistic
02:46 missiles on Wednesday.
02:47 -
02:53 -
02:59 [BLANK_AUDIO]
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