SEOUL: South Korean President-elect Yoon Suk Yeol on Thursday vowed to strengthen deterrence against North Korea’s nuclear and missile threats during a visit to a US military base, his spokesperson said.
Yoon flew by helicopter to Camp Humphreys in Pyeongtaek, 70 kilometres south of Seoul, amid heightened tensions in the wake of North Korea’s test-firing of an intercontinental ballistic missile last month and concern Pyongyang could carry out a nuclear test, reported Yonhap news agency.
“Strong deterrence through the Korea-US military alliance and combined defence posture cannot be emphasised enough in a grave international security situation surrounding the Korean Peninsula, including North Korea’s ICBM launch,” Yoon was quoted as saying by spokesperson Bae Hyun Jin.
Bae said Yoon “stated his determination to further increase the solidarity of the South Korea-US alliance and strengthen deterrence and the response posture against North Korea’s nuclear and missile threats.”
The base, located some 70 kilometres south of Seoul, serves as the headquarters of the 28,500-strong US Forces Korea (USFK) and the US-led UN Command.
During the visit, Yoon met with Gen Paul LaCamera, commander of USFK and the South Korea-US Combined Forces Command (CFC), as well as Deputy CFC Commander Gen Kim Seung Kyum.
The CFC is currently in the process of relocating to Camp Humphreys from Yongsan in Seoul, the same area that Yoon is pushing to move the presidential office to.
Past presidents-elect, including Park Geun Hye, Lee Myung Bak and Roh Moo Hyun, visited the CFC in Yongsan but not the base in Pyeongtaek.
Yoon called Camp Humphreys the “heart of the South Korea-US military alliance” and noted that it was his first visit to a military base since his election.
Earlier, South Korean Unification Minister Lee In Young called on North Korea to return to the negotiating table, saying April is a “critical” period for regional security.
“April is a time laden with many factors that could lead to the escalation of inter-Korean military tensions, such as the South Korea-US joint military exercises and the 110th birth anniversary of Kim Il Sung,” Lee said in a video message for a Seoul forum on Thursday, referring to the North’s late founding leader.
Regrettably, he added, the North is escalating tensions “at a critical period like this” through the breach of its moratorium on a long-range missile test and continued criticism against the South.
“It is very unfortunate not only for the North but for the future of our nation if it has chosen nuke and missiles, disregarding dialogue,” Lee stressed.
The birth anniversary of Kim Il-sung, late grandfather of current leader Kim Jong-un, called in the North the Day of the Sun, is one of the country’s biggest national holidays. The North has a track record of marking every fifth and 10th anniversary of such key celebrations with large-scale events or strategic provocations.
The North is also set to commemorate the 10th anniversary of Kim Jong Un’s rise to power as first secretary of the ruling Workers’ Party on April 11, followed by the founding anniversary of the North Korean People’s Revolutionary Army on April 25.
The Kim regime is apparently gearing up for a massive military parade, according to defence officials here.
Concerns are growing that it may carry out the test-firing of a submarine-launched ballistic missile (SLBM), launch another intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) or even conduct a nuclear test in time for such political anniversaries.
In Washington, DC, Sung Kim, the Joe Biden administration’s special representative for North Korea policy, talked in public about the likelihood of the North’s seventh nuclear experiment.
“I don’t want to speculate too much, but I think it could be another missile launch, it could be a nuclear test,” he told reporters during a conference call.
South Korea’s defence ministry said it is closely monitoring related areas and facilities in the North and maintaining readiness to deal with all possibilities.
* Follow us on Instagram and join our Telegram and/or WhatsApp channel(s) for the latest news you don't want to miss.
* Do you have access to the Daily Express e-paper and online exclusive news? Check out subscription plans available.
