Defense Minister Lee Jong-seop: "If North Korea proceeds with nuclear test, response will be on a different level"

Regarding the THAAD Controversy: "We Will Not Change Policy Due to China's Opposition"

Defense Minister Lee Jong-seop attended the full meeting of the National Defense Committee held at the National Assembly on the 1st and is giving a work report. Photo by Yoon Dong-joo doso7@

[Asia Economy Yang Nak-gyu, Military Specialist Reporter] Defense Minister Lee Jong-seop warned, "If North Korea conducts a nuclear test, the response will be on a completely different level from before."

On the 11th, Minister Lee held a press briefing with reporters at the Defense Convention in Yongsan-gu, Seoul, explaining defense policies to the media. He said, "We focus on demonstrating the capability to respond when North Korea carries out strategic provocations," adding, "The same applies to nuclear tests. The level of response will be on a different scale if a nuclear test is conducted."

Regarding North Korea's nuclear capabilities, he assessed, "North Korea clearly intends to miniaturize and lighten its nuclear weapons for tactical use and is making efforts in that direction." He noted that in the past, strategic nuclear weapons were perceived as "weapons that cannot be used," thus lacking practical deterrence, and analyzed, "Ultimately, miniaturization is meant to send the message that they can be used, and North Korea has that intention."

On the possibility that North Korea's local provocations or a seventh nuclear test could lead to the termination of the September 19 Military Agreement, he showed a cautious yet clear stance.

Minister Lee said, "The September 19 Military Agreement has meaning and can be maintained only if both South and North Korea comply together," adding, "If only we abide by it unilaterally and North Korea does not, the agreement is meaningless and cannot last long." This was interpreted as a message that "if North Korea does not comply, the agreement's continuation is meaningless."

However, he added, "We are still looking for an opportunity to uphold the meaning of the September 19 Agreement," and said, "Whether to terminate the agreement if a seventh nuclear test occurs will be decided after gathering opinions from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and other government bodies."

Minister Lee made it clear that the deployment of THAAD is a matter of national security and defense, not an issue for foreign countries like China to intervene in. He emphasized, "The deployment of THAAD pertains to security sovereignty, and it is unthinkable not to proceed just because China discusses issues like the '3 No's and 1 Halt' policy," adding, "We will not change the THAAD normalization policy due to China's opposition."

Regarding claims from some Chinese quarters that the THAAD radar can monitor Chinese territory, he dismissed them, stating, "The location of the Seongju THAAD battery radar is shielded by a mountain directly in front if it faces China, so it is physically impossible to operate it targeting China." He further explained, "The direction from which the U.S. is threatened by China has nothing to do with the Korean Peninsula," and "The THAAD battery is not structured to serve U.S. defense but is positioned solely to defend the Korean Peninsula."

On the issue of Kim Yo-jong, the younger sister of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un and vice department director of the Workers' Party, claiming that COVID-19 was introduced via South Korean leaflets and threatening "strong retaliation," Minister Lee analyzed this as an excuse to find a pretext for provocation. He said, "Few people would believe the virus came from us," adding, "It is more likely that they are using that as a reason while provoking for other causes."

He emphasized that maintaining basics is important to prevent incidents, accidents, and human rights violations within the military. Responding to criticism that the recently announced measures to prevent such incidents and violations are no different from existing ones, Minister Lee acknowledged, "You have seen it accurately," and said, "We just need to follow what is already required. It would be nice if there were solutions falling from the sky, but for now, the subordinate units just need to comply with what is already mandated."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.