Pentagon Responds To Congress’ Push To Arm South Korea With Nuclear Weapons After DPRK Arms Deal

3 months ago

During a press briefing on Tuesday, Pentagon Spokesperson Air Force Major General Pat Ryder answered reporter questions on push to arm South Korea with nuclear weapons following the weapons deal between Russia and North Korea.

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Transcript

00:00Thank you, General. I have two questions on North Korea, Russia, and Ukraine. First question,

00:09Russian President Putin recognized North Korea as a nuclear state, and the U.S. Congress is

00:17also talking about arming South Korea with nuclear weapons in response to North Korea's

00:26nuclear weapons. What is the Pentagon's view on South Korea's issue to arm itself with nuclear

00:34weapons? Yeah, look, our policy hasn't changed as it relates to the denuclearization of the

00:42Korean Peninsula. You know, again, we'll continue to work closely with our ROK, Japanese allies,

00:50and others in the region to ensure security and stability throughout the Indo-Pacific,

00:55and I'll just leave it there. A quick follow-up. North Korea's Central Military Commission

01:01announced that North Korea would join forces with the Russian military. And as part of the

01:10North Korea and Russia military alliance, the North Korean Army Engineer Unit would be dispatched to

01:19Donetsk, Ukraine, which means occupied by Russia. It will be dispatched as early as next month.

01:32How do you assess the rapid situation in which North Korea and Russia are moving toward Ukraine?

01:43So just to clarify, you're asking what do I think about Russia assigning North Korean

01:50forces to the battlefield in Ukraine? Yeah, I mean, that's certainly something to keep an eye

02:01on. I think that if I were North Korean military personnel management, I would be questioning my

02:09choices on sending my forces to be cannon fodder in an illegal war against Ukraine. And we've seen

02:18the kinds of casualties that Russian forces sow. But again, something that we'll keep an eye on.

02:26Let me move on, Janie. Yes, sir.

Pentagon Responds To Congress’ Push To Arm South Korea With Nuclear Weapons After DPRK Arms Deal

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