US condemns 'illegal and destabilising' N.Korea ICBM launch
The US and South Korea jointly warned North Korea that use of any kind of nuclear weapon against Seoul or other regional allies would result in the end of Kim Jong Un’s regime, as Pyongyang continued to rattle the peninsula with escalating missile tests.
North Korea's launch of an intercontinental ballistic missile is "illegal and destabilising," US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said.
Austin also branded the North's actions "irresponsible and reckless".
South Korea's military said earlier that the ICBM launch -- part of a salvo of missiles fired -- was "presumed to have ended in failure."
In response to the launches, South Korea and the United States said they would extend their ongoing joint air drills, the largest-ever such exercises -- a move Pyongyang immediately branded "an irrevocable and awful mistake."
Any use of nuclear weapons, including lower-yield tactical nuclear devices against Seoul or other regional allies such as Japan, would “result in the end of Kim Jong Un regime by the overwhelming and decisive response of the alliance,” Lee said at a joint news conference with Austin.
The US and South Korea “will work on response options towards all possible nuclear use scenarios” by North Korea, Lee said.
Washington and Seoul have repeatedly warned that North Korean leader Kim Jong Un's recent missile launches could culminate in another nuclear test -- which would be Pyongyang's seventh.
