US will strike North Korea if South attacked with nukes, South’s spy chief nominee says

South Korea’s nominee for spy agency director said on Thursday he believed the United States would strike North Korea with nuclear weapons if Pyongyang launched a nuclear attack against South Korea.

Lee Jong-seok made the comment during a nomination hearing in answer to a question if he believed Washington would strike the North and put Americans at risk from a country even if Pyongyang has deployed intercontinental ballistic missiles.

“Yes, that is my belief,” Lee said, after saying the hypothetical scenario of South Korea coming under the North’s nuclear attack is directly related to the security alliance between the two countries.

North Korea has for years pursued a nuclear programme and is believed to have stockpiled fissile materials to build atomic weapons although it has not tested a missile mounted with such a weapon.

Lee is nominated to lead South Korea’s National Intelligence Service under new liberal President Lee Jae Myung who took office on June 4.