Chinese Foreign Ministry Voices Concern Over US Plans to Send Nuclear Submarine to Korea

MOSCOW (Sputnik) - China has expressed concern over reports that the United States plans to sent a nuclear submarine with ballistic missiles to the South Korean shores, Foreign Ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin said on Thursday.

"China is concerned over the developments that you mentioned," the diplomat said when asked to comment on Beijing's position on these US plans.

Wang noted that China has urged the US and South Korea to "grasp the crux of the issues" and play a constructive role in the political settlement on the Peninsula. He said that the false path of military intimidation and pressure will not help to resolve the problem.

Last Thursday, US Forces Korea deputy commander Scott Pleus said that the US would soon send a nuclear submarine with ballistic missiles on board, and the local news agency reported that the submarine would be equipped with nuclear weapons.

On June 16, the day after North Korea launched two short-range ballistic missiles toward the Sea of Japan, USS Michigan, a US Ohio-class strategic nuclear-powered guided missile submarine, arrived in the Korean Peninsula. This is the first time since October 2017 that the United States has sent a submarine of this class to South Korea.

In April, the leaders of South Korea and the United States adopted the Washington Declaration, which provides for the establishment of a regular bilateral consultation mechanism on extended deterrence and strategic planning. South Korea also secured a US promise to promptly deploy "the entire force of the alliance," including nuclear weapons, in the event of a nuclear attack by North Korea. Washington also assured Seoul it would use all measures, including nuclear weapons, in the case of aggression from Pyongyang, and promised to send nuclear missile submarines to the Korean Peninsula.