CHO TAE-YONG ON NORTH'S NUCLEAR THREATS

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North Korea has outlined its hard-line foreign policy. The newly appointed South Korean ambassador to the U.S. is visiting Washington to discuss plans to bolster the alliance by beefing up extended deterrence. The new ROK-U.S. combined defense plan will include a stronger response to North Korean nuclear weapons.

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The Yoon administration's first ambassador to the U.S. Cho Tae-yong says the North Korean nuclear threat is the most urgent task and the most realistic threat to South Korea. Cho says the ROK-U.S. alliance must be strengthened based on extended deterrence. He added that one of the ways to achieve that is to beef up the two nations' response to Pyongyang's nuclear and missile programs in the combined defense plan.

[Soundbite] Cho Tae-yong(Ambassador of the Republic of Korea in the U.S.) : "The ROK-U.S. alliance must be prepared to respond to threats. The two nations' militaries are updating the combined defense plan, albeit belatedly, to beef up response to the North's nuclear and missile threats."

Extended deterrence was mentioned in the statement issued by the leaders of South Korea and the U.S. at their bilateral summit last month. The new combined defense plan to be devised next year will likely include a detailed action plan. Cho says the North appears to be ready to conduct a nuclear test and deploy tactical nuclear weapons soon. The ambassador expressed regret over Pyongyang's hard-line foreign policy announced last week at its party's plenary meeting.

[Soundbite] Cho Tae-yong(Ambassador of the Republic of Korea in the U.S.) : "Unfortunately N. Korea has chosen the wrong path in history. It's in no position to talk about hard-line policies."

On Tuesday, the South Korean and U.S. foreign ministers are set to meet for the first time since the Yoon administration took office. They will discuss responses to North Korean nuclear weapons and ways to bolster extended deterrence, including deploying nuclear strategic assets on the Korean Peninsula. Seoul's Foreign Minister Park Jin, who is in Washington, is to meet with the U.S. secretaries of state, energy and commerce to discuss economic security and trilateral cooperation among Seoul, Washington and Tokyo.