Republican hardliner Bolton says, “We don’t need the North Korean regime, we support Yoon Seok-yeol,” the Ministry of National Defense calls for the end of the regime
Former national security adviser John Bolton, a hard-line conservative U.S. strategist, announced on the 3rd his support for the Yoon Seok-yeol government, saying, “There is no need for the North Korean regime,” and the South Korean Ministry of National Defense announced on the 4th that “the use of nuclear weapons will lead to the end of the North Korean regime.”
Former aide Bolton, a hardliner under the Trump regime, said in a Voice of America (VOA) interview on the 3rd about the Biden administration's 'policy of dialogue engagement', "The goal of the US and South Korea's policy toward North Korea should be the unification of the Korean Peninsula under a free government." “I don’t think the North Korean regime has the strength to last long,” he said, suggesting the goal of unification.
An interview with VOA, a U.S. State Department media outlet, by a hard-line conservative strategist of the Republican Party, said in the 'Trilateral Cooperation Evaluation of the Yoon Seok-yeol Administration's North Korea Policy', "President Yoon has implemented a truly courageous policy to correct North Korea policies such as the past South Korean government's 'Sunshine Policy'." He expressed his support by saying, “I wish the Yoon Seok-yeol government good luck.”
He continued, “Sanctions against North Korea must be implemented very strictly. We have to apply pressure. “I don’t think the North Korean regime has the strength to last long,” he said. “We should focus more on the goal of unifying the Korean Peninsula rather than just focusing on dialogue with North Korea.” “Dialogue with North Korea has not yielded any results,” he said.
“I don’t know what will happen to the nuclear program if cracks start to appear in the current North Korean regime,” he said. “I don’t think North Korea will necessarily need a new regime if the authoritarian regime starts to fall and people start to move out. “We need unification,” he said, announcing the end of the North Korean regime.
Regarding North Korea's recent stipulation of a 'nuclear force policy' in its constitution, the Ministry of National Defense again warned, saying, "North Korea's attempt to use nuclear weapons will lead to the end of the regime." The Ministry of National Defense issued a statement to reporters on the morning of the 4th, saying, "If North Korea “If they attempt to use nuclear weapons, it will lead to the end of their regime,” he said. “By specifying the ‘nuclear force policy’ that was legislated in September of last year in their constitution, North Korea will not give up nuclear weapons despite the ruined lives of its people and is upgrading its nuclear capabilities.” “The ambition to do so has become even more blatant,” he said about the recent stipulation of nuclear weapons in the constitution. The Ministry of National Defense continued, “This is a serious threat that harms the peace and stability of the international community, including the Korean Peninsula,” and added, “This has further isolated North Korea from the international community and has further isolated North Korean residents.” “The pain will become even more severe,” he said.
In particular, regarding ‘North Korea-Russia military cooperation,’ former aide Bolton said, “I don’t think the Biden administration has much of a policy toward North Korea,” and added, “How should the mutual relationships between China, Russia, North Korea, and Iran be considered in our strategic sense? “It shows that it goes beyond simply North Korea possessing nuclear weapons or threatening to unify the Korean Peninsula by force,” he said.
In a speech commemorating Armed Forces Day on the 26th of last month, President Yoon said, “If North Korea makes a provocation, our military will immediately punish it, and if North Korea uses nuclear weapons, we will put an end to the North Korean regime through an overwhelming response from the ROK-US alliance.”
On the 28th, the Ministry of Unification said in a statement regarding North Korea's explicit 'nuclear force policy' in its constitution, "We once again emphasize that if nuclear weapons are used, the North Korean regime will face the end."
U.S. State Department spokesman Matthew Miller said in a briefing on North Korea's "nuclear" constitution on the 27th of last month, "North Korea's illegal weapons of mass destruction (WMD) and ballistic missile programs are a threat to international peace and security and the global non-proliferation system," and added, "We “I reiterate that we must understand that the only viable way forward is through diplomacy,” he said.
Japanese Chief Cabinet Secretary Hirokazu Matsuno said on the 27th, "North Korea's nuclear and missile development poses a threat to the peace and security of our country and the international community and can never be tolerated."
On the 26th of last month, North Korea's Supreme People's Assembly adopted as a law the clause <Increasing nuclear forces to deter war as a responsible nuclear weapons state and protect peace and stability in the region and the world> as a proposal to amend the constitution.
North Korea stipulates in Chapter 4, Article 58 of the Constitution, “By advancing the development of nuclear weapons, we will guarantee the country’s right to survival and development, suppress war, and protect peace and stability in the region and the world.”
Article 58 of the previous North Korean Constitution stated, “The Democratic People’s Republic of Korea is based on the all-people and national defense system.”
Sejong Institute's Unification Strategy Research Department Director Jeong Seong-jang said in relation to this, North Korea's Supreme People's Assembly Chairman Park In-cheol said in the revision, "The Democratic People's Republic of Korea, as a responsible nuclear weapons state, guarantees the country's right to survival and development, suppresses war, and promotes regional and world peace. “We advance the development of nuclear weapons to protect stability” and “The mission of the armed forces of the Republic is to defend national sovereignty, territorial integrity, and the rights and interests of the people, to protect the socialist system and the gains of the revolution from all threats, and to ensure the peace and prosperity of the homeland.” It was revealed that it reflected the revised and supplementary bill that said, “It is guaranteed by military power.”
Kim Jong-un’s speech on this day said, “As long as our Republic exists as a socialist country, and as long as the core of imperialist tyranny that seeks to destroy independence and socialism exists on the earth, the current status of a nuclear-armed state must never be changed or conceded; rather, “It is a strict strategic judgment made by our party and government that we must continue to strengthen our nuclear forces,” the Sejong Institute said on the 4th.
<Reference to North Korea’s nuclear advancement decree: US ‘diplomacy’, Japan ‘international security’, Korea ‘end of regime’, September 27, 2023>