North Korean dictator Kim Jong-un has said the country is “ready to mobilize” its nuclear deterrent in the face of possible military clashes with the US and South Korea, North Korean media reported on Thursday. The autocrat also criticized the neighboring country’s new president for the first time.
“Our country’s nuclear deterrent is ready to mobilize its absolute power reliably, accurately and quickly in accordance with its mission,” Kim said in a speech on Wednesday, according to state-run Korean Central News. Agency, the KCNA, of Pyongyang.
The Armed Forces are “fully prepared” to face “any military confrontation with the United States”, he added, when addressing veterans of the Korean War (1950-1953), in view of the 69th anniversary of the armistice between the two countries, which still keeps the Koreas, at least technically, at war.
Confrontation with the United States, Kim said, has posed nuclear threats since the conflict in the 1950s and requires the North to undertake an “urgent historic task” to bolster its self-defense.
In June, the US and South Korea threatened to impose more sanctions and even review US military posture if North Korea carried out a new nuclear test. This week, the US conducted live fire drills in South Korea with Apache helicopters for the first time since 2019. On the other hand, Seoul and Washington say Pyongyang has completed preparations for the first nuclear test since 2017.
In the speech, Kim also criticized South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol, who took office in May and vowed to be tougher on his neighbour. “Talking about military action against our nation, which possesses the absolute weapons they fear most, is absurd and a very dangerous self-destructive action,” he stressed.
“Such a dangerous attempt would be immediately punished by our mighty force, and the government of Yoon Suk Yeol and his army would be annihilated,” the North Korean leader threatened.
Kim also claimed that “warmongers” and “disgusting thugs” in Yoon’s government are engaged in confrontational military activities, highlighting Seoul’s weapons development and effort to bring back US strategic nuclear assets. The “heinous policy of confrontation” towards the North and the “toady and treacherous acts” are pushing the situation to the brink of war, he said.
Yoon’s office expressed “deep regret” at the “threatening” speech, saying South Korea was able to respond “strongly and effectively” to the provocations. “We once again urge North Korea to follow the path of dialogue to achieve denuclearization and peace,” spokeswoman Kang In-sun said.
“Kim’s rhetoric exaggerates external threats to justify his regime focused on military spending in a struggling economy,” said Leif-Eric Easley, a professor at Ewha University in Seoul. “North Korea’s nuclear and missile programs violate international law, but Kim is trying to present his destabilizing weaponry as a fair self-defense effort,” the expert said.
