Posted on May 5, 2021. North Korea’s improved nuclear weapons make South Korea, Japan and the United States immediate targets. As North Korea’s nuclear threat increases, South Korea might face a real existential crisis. The U.S. and South Korea must level-up extended deterrence like that of NATO and create a combined nuclear crisis management system. Neglecting the situation could lead to “the road of nuclear slavery,” or South Korea could experience a harsh reality never experienced before Kim Jong Un issued a 2018 New Year’s statement that could symbolize an inflection point with respect to the North’s nuclear ability, nuclear strategy and willingness to use nuclear weapons. Kim stated that the entire territory of the United States was in the North’s nuclear firing range, and emphasized, “They [the U.S.] should know that the nuclear missile button is always on the desk in my office and it is not a threat but a reality,” adding, “[North Korea] must accelerate mass production of nuclear warheads and missiles and deploy them.”