Jung Jin-seok "If Busan Port Is Destroyed by North Korean Nuclear Attack, Will the US Retaliate with Nuclear Strike?"

Jeong Jin-seok, Emergency Response Committee Chairman of the People Power Party, is attending the Emergency Response Committee meeting held at the National Assembly on the 17th and delivering an opening remark. Photo by Yoon Dong-joo doso7@

[Asia Economy Reporter Lee Ji-eun] Jeong Jin-seok, Emergency Response Committee Chairman of the People Power Party, argued that "if North Korea destroys Busan Port with tactical nuclear weapons, would the United States really carry out nuclear retaliation?" and insisted that the U.S. extended deterrence should be further expanded.

On the 18th, Chairman Jeong said through his social network service (SNS), "The situation where North Korea loads miniaturized and lightweight tactical nuclear weapons onto cruise missiles has become a reality."

He emphasized, "The response to North Korean nuclear weapons must be comprehensively reconsidered," adding, "The ROK-U.S. Security Consultative Meeting, which will soon be attended by the defense ministers of both countries, should concretize the U.S. extended deterrence commitment to a level where the Korean people can feel safe."

He pointed out that the current level of extended deterrence is insufficient to dispel the Korean people's anxiety about North Korea's nuclear weapons. He likened Busan being attacked by North Korean nuclear weapons to 'drizzle,' saying, "Even if it is drizzling, would the U.S. kindly open an umbrella for us? The anxiety of our people starts exactly at this point."

Regarding the media reports on June 18th that Philip Goldberg, the U.S. Ambassador to South Korea, said "the ruling party's claim of deploying tactical nuclear weapons on the Korean Peninsula is irresponsible," he stated, "Ambassador Goldberg is saying something completely different. The statement that 'talks about tactical nuclear weapons, whether started by Putin or Kim Jong-un, are irresponsible and dangerous' does not refer to our party's claim of 'deploying tactical nuclear weapons on the Korean Peninsula.'"

He added, "He told us not to doubt the 'extended deterrence' promised by the U.S. to the Republic of Korea," explaining, "The term extended deterrence is a concept very similar to the 'nuclear umbrella.'"

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