Seoul says North Korea will self-destruct if it uses nukes

Seoul, September 13

South Korea on Tuesday warned North Korea that using its nuclear weapons would put it on a “path of self-destruction”, in unusually harsh language that came days after North Korea legislated a new law that would allow it to use its nuclear weapons pre-emptively.

North Korea will likely be infuriated by the South Korean rhetoric as Seoul typically shuns such strong words to avoid raising tensions on the Korean Peninsula.

South Korea’s Defence Ministry said the legislation would only deepen North Korea’s isolation and prompt Seoul and Washington to “further strengthen their deterrence and reaction capacities”. 

To get North Korea not to use its nuclear weapons, the ministry said South Korea would sharply boost its own pre-emptive attack, missile defence and massive retaliation capacities while seeking a greater US security commitment to defend its ally South Korea with all available capabilities, including nuclear one.

“We warn that the North Korean government would face the overwhelming response by the South Korea-US military alliance and go on the path of self-destruction, if it attempts to use nuclear weapons,” Moon Hong Sik, an acting ministry spokesperson, told reporters.

Last week, North Korea’s rubber-stamp parliament adopted the legislation on the governing rules of its nuclear arsenal. The legislation would allow North Korea to use its nuclear weapons if its leadership faced an imminent attack or if it aimed to prevent an unspecified “catastrophic crisis” to its people.