Foreign minister Park Jin reportedly said that the U.S. extended deterrence is the only way South Korea can effectively protect itself from the threats of North Korea.

Minister Park made the remarks on Wednesday in an interview with CNN, calling North Korea a "clear and present danger" that will not give up nuclear weapons voluntarily.

Park said that what North Korea is doing is completely wrong, condemning the North's continued missile launches at an unprecedented frequency amid the possibility of a seventh nuclear test.

The minister said that North Korea has been escalating nuclear and missile threats, and threatening the peace and stability on the Korean Peninsula and Northeast Asia.

He emphasized that the U.S. extended deterrence is the only effective protection for South Korea against the North’s aggression, adding that enhancing that deterrence would involve the effective deployment of U.S. strategic assets as well as exercises and training.

Projecting that North Korean leader Kim Jong-un will not give up his nuclear weapons voluntarily, the minister stressed the need to create an environment in which the North has no choice but to come back to the negotiation table.