WASHINGTON, USA – The United States and South Korea on Friday, September 16 denounced North Korea’s first-use nuclear doctrine unveiled this month as “escalatory and destabilizing” and Washington vowed to continue to deploy and exercise strategic assets to deter and respond to Pyongyang.
The statement said the countries “committed to continue efforts to employ all elements of both countries’ national power to strengthen the Alliance deterrence posture.” The statement referred to combined training of F-35A fighter jets in July and an upcoming deployment of the USS Ronald Reagan Carrier Strike Group in the region “as a clear demonstration of such US commitment.”