The US promised a quick and forceful response if the Kim Jong-un regime carries out a nuclear test

The US Deputy Secretary of State, Wendy Sherman warned North Korea today from Seoul to execute a “quick and forceful” response if the Kim Jong-un regime carries out the nuclear test it has been preparing for months.

The warning came at a press conference after Sherman met with his South Korean counterpart, Cho Hyun-dong, with whom he discussed Pyongyang’s latest weapons tests, who has not responded to the offers of dialogue that Washington has been raising since the last year.

“Any nuclear test would be a total violation of UN Security Council resolutions”Sherman recalled in statements collected by the Yonhap agency.

“Faced with such a test, there would be a quick and forceful response,” he added.

The day before, US and South Korean forces responded to the eight short-range ballistic missiles (SRBMs) launched by Pyongyang on Sunday (the largest sequence of launches in a single test by the regime in 2022) by also firing eight test shots. SRBM missiles of the ATACMS system.

North Korea launched ballistic missiles

It is the second time that the allies have responded in this way to a North Korean projectile test since the conservative Yoon Suk-yeol became president on May 10, who has promised a stronger hand if Pyongyang carries out weapons tests.

In turn, the US president, Joe Biden promised Yoon during his visit to Seoul late last month that the US will tighten its deterrence stance on the peninsula based on the actions of the northern regime.

Since the beginning of the year, satellites have captured preparations in Punggye-ri (northeast of the country), for a new nuclear test for which, according to experts, the only thing missing is the execution order of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un.

Sherman wanted to reiterate today, despite the wishes of the Biden Administration to resume the dialogue without preconditions on denuclearization, stalled since 2019.

“The United States harbors no hostile intent toward the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (North Korea’s official name). We continue to urge Pyongyang to cease its destabilizing and provocative activities and choose the path of diplomacy.”said.

North Korea approved in 2021 a five-year weapons modernization plan that is behind the record number of missile launches carried out this year and the aforementioned nuclear test.

For his part, the spokesman for the US State DepartmentNed Price, has indicated this Monday that the main objective of Washington is “to see the complete denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula”after launching eight missiles along with South Korea into the East Sea on Sunday, in response to another launch by North Korea the day before.

Price has assured that the United States is doing everything possible to establish a dialogue with North Korea, despite the fact that Pyongyang is in “appears to be in a period of provocation”.

Thus, the spokesman stressed that the United States is “doing everything possible to make way for a period that is more characterized by diplomacy.”

The United States and South Korea responded to North Korea on Monday by launching eight ballistic missiles into the East Sea. After the North Korean country launched several missiles the day before.

The resolutions adopted by the United Nations prevent North Korea from carrying out this type of test.