President Biden on Wednesday warned that any North Korean nuclear attack on the U.S. or its allies would mean “the end of whatever regime” launched such an offensive as the Biden administration and South Korea rolled out a new effort to cooperate on the use of nuclear weapons.
“Look, a nuclear attack by North Korea against the United States or its allies or partners is unacceptable and would result in the end of whatever regime were to take such an action,” Biden said in a press conference from the Rose Garden alongside South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol.
Biden’s comments came as the two leaders announced the Washington Declaration, an agreement between the U.S. and South Korea to strengthen nuclear deterrence efforts in response to escalatory behavior by North Korea.
The agreement lays out that the U.S. would take steps to increase its visible deterrence efforts, including through a U.S. nuclear ballistic submarine visit to South Korea for the first time in decades.
Biden also said the U.S. and South Korea will have more consultation whenever the U.S. is contemplating any action involving nuclear weapons.
“What the declaration means is we’re going to make every effort to consult with our allies when it’s appropriate if any action is so called for,” Biden said.
Tensions on the peninsula have been heightened over the past year, in particular. North Korea has launched roughly 100 missiles since the start of 2022, putting South Korea and Japan in particular on high alert.
North Korea has also taken issue with joint military drills between the U.S. and South Korea, viewing them as a threat.
Biden administration officials have stressed that they are willing to keep diplomatic channels with North Korea open, though they have not had the same level of contact as the Trump administration, where then-President Trump and then-Secretary of State Mike Pompeo both met with Kim Jong Un.