Defense ministry warns N. Korea will face end of regime in event of nuclear use attempt
North Korean leader Kim Jong-un speaks during the ninth session of the 14th Supreme People's Assembly held from Sept. 26 to 27 in Pyongyang, in this photo captured from Pyongyang's official Korean Central Television, Sept. 28. Yonhap
The defense ministry warned Wednesday that North Korea will face the "end of its regime" if it attempts to use nuclear weapons, after Pyongyang recently amended its constitution to enshrine its nuclear policy.
The ministry issued the warning after the North convened a key parliamentary meeting last week, with its leader Kim Jong-un in attendance, to stipulate the policy of strengthening its nuclear force in the constitution.
"Our military is equipped with a combined South Korea-U.S. readiness posture that can overwhelmingly respond to any attack from North Korea," the ministry said in a statement. "If North Korea attempts to use nukes, it will face the end of its regime."
The ministry also said the North is making undisguised efforts to advance its nuclear capabilities at a time when the livelihoods of its people have been ravaged.
"This is a grave threat that harms peace and stability in the international community, including on the Korean Peninsula, and through this, North Korea will become further isolated from the international community and its people's suffering will deepen," it added.
The North's latest move came after it enacted a new nuclear law in September last year that authorized the preemptive use of nuclear arms, calling its status as a nuclear state "irreversible."
South Korea has previously made similar warnings against the North, with President Yoon Suk Yeol saying the regime will be brought to an end by the South Korea-U.S. alliance if it uses nuclear weapons during an Armed Forces Day ceremony last month. (Yonhap)