US Senate Foreign Relations Committee Whip: "Nuclear Weapons Should Be Redeployed in Korea"

Senate Foreign Relations Committee GOP Whip Senator Risch
"Must Respond to North Korea's Nuclear Threat"

Senator James Risch of Idaho, the Republican ranking member of the U.S. Senate Foreign Relations Committee, stated that the redeployment of nuclear weapons to South Korea should be considered in response to North Korea's nuclear threats.

According to Voice of America (VOA) on the 26th (local time), Senator Risch sent an email to the broadcaster saying, "The Biden administration should reject North Korea's objectives and, to strengthen extended deterrence, expand alliance nuclear planning and operational mechanisms, as well as consider redeploying nuclear weapons to South Korea."

He explained, "Recent consecutive launches of long-range missiles by North Korea have been accompanied by various short- and medium-range missile tests," adding, "Many of these are weapons capable of carrying nuclear warheads." He further stated, "The speed and variety of these tests suggest that North Korea is simulating use in wartime," interpreting this as "a signal to U.S. allies that North Korea can control escalation during military conflict."

Senator Risch emphasized, "Frequent missile tests by North Korea have lulled the Biden administration into complacency, but this should not be regarded as routine."

Earlier, when President Yoon Suk-yeol hinted at the possibility of independent nuclear armament in January, the U.S. government reaffirmed that "the joint goal of South Korea and the United States is denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula."