A South Korean military source told the national outlet Yonhap that his government is ready to reduce Pyongyang “to ashes” after the latest North Korean nuclear test, with “every Pyongyang district… completely destroyed.”
While not an official statement from Seoul, these are the sternest words to come out of South Korea’s government against the belligerent north in recent memory and a sign that South Korea is losing patience with Pyongyang’s repeated threats to attack its neighbor with nuclear weapons.
The military source told Yonhap that a plan is in place to destroy Pyongyang if necessary. “Every Pyongyang district, particularly where the North Korean leadership is possibly hidden, will be completely destroyed by ballistic missiles and high-explosive shells as soon as the North shows any signs of using a nuclear weapon,” the source said. “In other words, the North’s capital city will be reduced to ashes and removed from the map.”
While the South Korean Defense Ministry did not use such language, it did respond to this weekend’s nuclear test with its own official warning that Pyongyang should refrain from threatening it neighbors. Ministry spokesman Jeong Joon-hee called the nuclear test “really deplorable” and urged officials working under dictator Kim Jong-un to cease nuclear development. South Korea also announced the existence of a plan called “Korea Massive Punishment & Retaliation” (KMPR) last week, a comprehensive approach to destroying North Korea should they use nuclear weapons against the south.
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