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☆ North Korea's Kim directs cruise missile test as South Korea, US begin drills
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-20 | by ( Hyonhee Shin | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

[1/2] North Korean leader Kim Jong Un oversees a strategic cruise missile test aboard a navy warship in this undated photo released by North Korea's Korean Central News Agency. The latest missile test came as South Korea and the United States began the Ulchi Freedom Shield summer exercises on Monday, designed to enhance their joint responses to North Korea's nuclear and missile threats. "North Korea talks about preemptive nuclear strikes and preparations for an offensive war, but we will immediately and overwhelmingly retaliate for any provocations." Over the past two years, North Korea has been testing what it calls "strategic cruise missiles," which some analysts have said could be tipped with nuclear warheads. While modernising and bolstering its naval power, North Korea showcased a new, nuclear-capable underwater attack drone in March.

Persons: Kim Jong Un, KCNA, Kim, Yoon Suk Yeol, Yoon, Choi Il, Hyonhee Shin, Gerry Doyle, Clarence Fernandez Organizations: North, Korean Central News Agency, KCNA, REUTERS Acquire, Rights, United States, Command, National Security Council, Thomson Locations: Rights SEOUL, South Korea, Pyongyang, Korea, United States, Japan, North Korea

☆ Rare submarine visit reminds North Korea of U.S. nuclear missiles out of sight, in range
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-21 | by ( Josh Smith | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

SEOUL, July 21 (Reuters) - When a U.S. ballistic missile submarine (SSBN) surfaced for a rare visit to South Korea this week it was a blunt reminder that Washington always has nuclear-tipped missiles deployed within close striking distance of North Korea, analysts said. “Placing nuclear weapons offshore and on submarines is actually a stronger deterrent in many ways,” said Duyeon Kim of the Center for a New American Security. SSBNs anywhere from the U.S. West coast westward can strike targets in North Korea,” Van Diepen said. For now, a missile submarine would only marginally supplement the North's burgeoning land-based nuclear force, Van Diepen said. "De-facto nuclear sharing between the United States and South Korea is happening," said Choi Il, a retired South Korean submarine captain.

Persons: ”, Duyeon Kim, Vann Van Diepen, ” Van Diepen, Van Diepen, Choi Il, Josh Smith, Simon Cameron, Moore Organizations: Center, New, New American Security, The U.S ., U.S, Thomson Locations: SEOUL, U.S, South Korea, Washington, North Korea, New American, USS Kentucky Ohio, South, Busan, United States, China, The, An Ohio, West, ”, Korea, South Korean

SEOUL, April 27 (Reuters) - For the first time since the 1980s a U.S. Navy nuclear-armed ballistic missile submarine (SSBN) will visit South Korea to help demonstrate Washington's resolve to protect the country from a North Korean attack. The visit was announced in a joint declaration during a summit between South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol and U.S. President Joe Biden in Washington on Wednesday. "That could be a huge pressure on North Korea, because usually they don’t share where those submarines are," said Moon Keun-sik, a retired South Korean submarine captain and squadron leader. The United States has pledged to deploy more so-called "strategic assets" such as aircraft carriers, submarines, and long-range bombers to South Korea to deter North Korea, which has developed increasingly powerful missiles that can hit targets from South Korea to the mainland United States. The submarine visit is also seen as a way to reassure South Korea and quell talk in Seoul of developing homegrown nuclear weapons.

☆ Analysis: Calls for South Korean nuclear arsenal unlikely to fade despite US deal
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-27 | by ( Josh Smith | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

"Domestic politics could distort the incentives South Korean leaders face when it comes to limiting their nuclear options over the long run." Nuclear expert Siegfried Hecker warned in January there could be disastrous downsides to Seoul acquiring its own nuclear weapons. The United States once stationed hundreds of tactical nuclear weapons in South Korea and has made other agreements to reassure Seoul. Choi Il, a retired South Korean submarine captain, told Reuters that South Korea's fundamental answer to the growing North Korean threat remains unchanged. "If you strike us with nuclear weapons, then we will strike back with our own."

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