US intentions to send nuclear-armed submarines to South Korea will certainly exacerbate regional tensions, according to China’s foreign ministry. US President Joe Biden confirmed the deployment with his South Korean counterpart, Yoon Suk-yeol, earlier this week.
Foreign Ministry spokesperson Mao Ning told the reporters on Thursday that the “US, in order to realise its own geopolitical interests while disregarding regional security, insisted on using the peninsula issue to create tension.”
She went on to accuse Washington of being mired in a Cold War mindset and undermining the nuclear non-proliferation regime as well as attempts to denuclearize the Korean peninsula.
President Biden met with his South Korean colleague at the White House on Wednesday, when the two leaders released the ‘Washington Declaration.’
Speaking to reporters, the US president declared that “extended deterrence” against “North Korea’s nuclear and missile threats” will include a nuclear component.
“We will have visits to — port visits of nuclear submarines and other things like that,” Biden said.
The US president also stated that the two countries have agreed to form a group called the Nuclear Consultative Group to ensure “even closer cooperation, closer consultation.”
Biden claimed that peace on the Korean Peninsula may be accomplished “through the superiority of overwhelming forces.”
Pyongyang has tested over 100 missiles since the beginning of 2022, including its first solid-fuel intercontinental ballistic missile and a nuclear-capable underwater attack drone this month.
In reaction to the DPRK’s heightened military activity, Washington and Seoul have increased joint drills on the Korean peninsula.
North Korea, for its part, says that its missile programme is defensive in character, accusing South Korea and the United States of preparing an attack. The government has also strongly opposed joint defence exercises conducted by Washington and Seoul, branding them as provocations.
