Summarize this content to 2000 words in 6 paragraphs The U.S. nuclear triad is ready to meet a North Korean atomic attack with “overwhelming” force, a senior U.S. military official said Wednesday, amid concerns over Kim Jong Un’s increasingly lethal arsenal.The “triad” refers to the combination of missiles that can be fired from land, air and sea.Newsweek has reached out to the North Korean Embassy in China by email with a request for comment.Why It MattersMajor General Jason Armagost, commander of the 8th Air Force and Joint-Global Strike Operations Center, was speaking at a talk hosted by the nonprofit Korea Society. His command oversees strategic bombers, including B-1s, B-2s, and B-52s, as well as airborne nuclear strike capabilities.The remark came as Kim Jong Un’s regime continues to advance its United Nations-sanctioned nuclear weapons program. Last week, U.S. Northern Command chief General Gregory Guillot warned that Pyongyang is now likely capable of striking targets across North America with its latest intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM), the Hwasong-19.
Ohio-class guided-missile submarine “USS Michigan,” part of the U.S.’ nuclear triad, transits Apra Harbor at Naval Base Guam on November 2, 2024.
Ohio-class guided-missile submarine “USS Michigan,” part of the U.S.’ nuclear triad, transits Apra Harbor at Naval Base Guam on November 2, 2024.
James Caliva/U.S. Navy
What To KnowAsked whether North Korea’s potential ability to strike North America with ICBMs might prompt the U.S. to prioritize the defense of the homeland over its South Korean ally, Armagost emphasized the strength of the U.S. nuclear triad.”Intercontinental missiles on alert, submarine-launched ballistic missiles for an assured second-strike capability, and bombers to be a forward and visible presence with regards to what the triad does for a spectrum of capability for strategic deterrence,” he said.The general said that while Kim’s regime having an ICBM is “problematic,” it would be “extremely difficult” for it to attack “that system of systems,” referring to the nuclear triad.”And so, what that system allows us to do is to say: ‘That use of an ICBM would not result in the benefit that you are seeking because we can respond in a way that is overwhelming—in the time, place, and manner of our choosing.”He stressed that this is why the number of U.S. land-, submarine-, and bomber-based ICBMs is critical.Approximately 1,770 of the U.S.’ nuclear warheads are deployed, according to the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute. North Korea was estimated to possess around 50 nuclear warheads and enough fissile material to make 90 more.The U.S.’ “extended deterrence” security commitment, including the protection of its nuclear umbrella, covers Australia and Japan in addition to South Korea.What People Are SayingGeneral Gregory Guillot, commander of U.S. Northern Command, said in a February 13 statement to the Senate Armed Services Committee: “Regime rhetoric surrounding the new ICBM suggests Kim is eager to transition his strategic weapons program from research and development to serial production and fielding, a process that could rapidly expand North Korea’s inventory and narrow my confidence in USNORTHCOM’s existing ballistic missile defense capacity in the coming years.”North Korea’s state-run Korean Central News Agency wrote Thursday: “The United States already cooked up the ‘nuclear operation guidelines’ with the puppet Republic of Korea [South Korea] and promised that nuclear weapons are included in the “offer of extended deterrence” to Japan. Like this, it has turned the U.S.-Japan-ROK tripartite military cooperation system into a thorough nuclear alliance.”What’s Next?Kim has pledged to further expand his country’s nuclear arsenal. The leader has stressed this is necessary for self-defense, citing increased military cooperation between the U.S. and its South Korean and Japanese partners.
