SEOUL - US and South Korean forces can deter and defeat North Korea even if the reclusive communist state has several nuclear weapons, a senior US military officer said in an interview broadcast on Wednesday. The commander of the US forces in South Korea, General Leon LaPorte, said the US military believed North Korea had one to two nuclear weapons at a minimum, and was also working to advance its missile programme.
âWhether North Korea has one or several nuclear weapons does not change the balance on the peninsula,â LaPorte told South Koreaâs PBC radio in an interview taped on Tuesday, according to a transcript provided by the station. âThe US and the Republic of Korea retain our ability to deter North Korean aggression and, if required, to decisively defeat the North Korean threat if they were to threaten South Korea,â he said.
LaPorte said the United States was fully committed to talks aimed at ending the Northâs nuclear weapons programmes and sought a diplomatic solution to the crisis. LaPorteâs comments may cause North Korea to try to draw more attention to its nuclear programme through boasts or perhaps more provocative measures, an analyst said.
âNorth Korea may try to create new tensions by prodding neighbouring countries and trying to re-alert them about its nuclear capabilities,â said Jeung Young-tae from the Korea Institute for National Unification. US officials have repeatedly said Washington has no intention of attacking the North.
LaPorte also said the US military believed the North had a substantial missile programme, which included long-range intercontinental ballistic missiles that could hit the mainland United States if the North succeeded in increasing their power. |