US, South Korea send Kim missile warning

The United States and South Korea jointly warned North Korea yesterday that use of any kind of nuclear weapon against Seoul or other regional allies would result in the end of Kim Jong Un’s regime, as Pyongyang continued to rattle the peninsula with escalating missile tests.

North Korea has launched more than two dozen missiles over the past two days in response to US-South Korean military exercises that began this week.

The launches have sent South Koreans scrambling for shelter and further frayed the nerves of a population already mourning the loss of more than 150 people at a horrific Halloween crowd crush.

US Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin and South Korean Defence Minister Lee Jong-sup released a joint statement saying they “strongly condemned” North Korea’s escalating military flexing.

In response to the launches, the US extended the Vigilant Storm military exercise, which will now run through until tomorrow, depending on the security environment.

At the Pentagon, both defence leaders pressed that any use of nuclear weapons, including loweryield tactical nuclear devices against Seoul or other regional allies such as Japan, would “result in the end of Kim Jong Un regime by the overwhelming and decisive response of the alliance”, Lee said.

In its launches on Thursday, North Korea fired an intercontinental ballistic missile, drawing swift condemnation from the White House, which accused Pyongyang of “destabilising the security situation in the region”.

Tensions between the US and North Korea have also increased over newly declassified reports that it is providing artillery for Russia to use against Ukraine.

North Korea was shipping an undisclosed number of artillery shells to Russia but “trying to make it appear as though they’re being sent to countries in the Middle East or North Africa,” said National Security Council spokesman John Kirby.