US President Joe Biden today warned that a North Korean nuclear attack would mean the “end” of Kim Jong-un’s regime in Pyongyang.

Biden made such a statement during a joint press conference with his South Korean counterpart Yun Suk Yol, with whom he held talks today at the White House.

The American president recalled that only he has the right to use American nuclear weapons, but noted that he would not deploy nuclear weapons on the Korean Peninsula. He added that North Korea’s actions are a flagrant violation of the sanctions imposed against it.

Yoon Suk Yeol, for his part, assured that Washington would respond to any North Korean nuclear attack.

Peace with Pyongyang can only be achieved through a show of force, not an expression of “good will,” he insisted. “We can achieve peace by overwhelming force, not by a fictitious peace based on the goodwill of the other side,” he said.

The US and South Korea have agreed to intensify economic cooperation in critical technology areas such as microchips, electric vehicles and batteries.

Biden emphasized that his semiconductor policy is not intended to harm China, but rather to increase jobs in domestic industry and improve access to microchips.

Source: APE-MPE, Reuters, AFP.