SEOUL, South Korea (AP) – North Korean leader Kim Jong Un warned that he is ready to use his nuclear weapons in possible military conflicts with the United States and South Korea, state media said Thursday, as he unleashed a fiery rhetoric against opponents he says are pushing the Korean peninsula to the brink of war.
Kim’s speech to war veterans on the 69th anniversary of the end of the 1950-53 Korean War was apparently intended to boost domestic unity in the impoverished country suffering from economic hardships related to the pandemic. North Korea will likely step up its threats against the United States and South Korea as the allies prepare to expand summer drills in what North Korea sees as a rehearsal for an invasion, some observers say.
“Our armed forces are fully prepared to respond to any crisis, and our country’s nuclear deterrent is also ready to mobilize its full force responsibly, precisely and quickly according to its mission,” Kim said in Wednesday’s speech. , according to the official Korean Central News Agency.
He accused the United States of “demonizing” North Korea to justify its hostile policies. He said the US-South Korean military drills show the US’s “double standards” and “gangster” aspects because they characterize North Korea’s routine military activities – an apparent reference to its missile tests – as provocations or threats.
Kim also called new South Korean President Yun Suk-yeol a “conflict maniac” who has gone further than South Korean leaders and said Yun’s conservative government is run by “gangsters.” Since taking office in May, the Yun administration has moved to strengthen Seoul’s military alliance with the United States and boost its ability to counter North Korea’s nuclear threats, including a pre-emptive strike capability.
“Talking about military action against our nation, which has absolutely the most feared weapons, is absurd and a very dangerous suicidal act,” Kim said. “Such a dangerous attempt will be immediately punished by our powerful force, and Yoon Suk Yeol’s government and his army will be annihilated.”
This year, Kim has increasingly threatened his rivals with his progressive nuclear program in what some foreign experts say is an effort to extract external concessions and achieve greater internal unity.
In April, Kim said North Korea could use preemptive nuclear weapons if threatened, saying they will “never be limited to the single mission of war deterrence.” Kim’s military has also test-fired nuclear-capable missiles that put both the US mainland and South Korea within striking distance.
Kim is seeking greater public support as his country’s economy has been hit by pandemic-related border closures, US-led sanctions and his own mismanagement. North Korea also admitted to its first outbreak of COVID-19 in May, although the extent of the illness and death is widely disputed in a country that lacks the modern medical capacity to deal with it.
“Kim’s rhetoric inflates external threats to justify his militarily focused and economically struggling regime,” said Leif-Erik Esli, a professor at Ewha University in Seoul. “North Korea’s nuclear and missile programs violate international law, but Kim is trying to portray his destabilizing weapons buildup as a righteous effort in self-defense.”
North Korea rejected U.S. and South Korean proposals to resume talks, saying its rivals must first abandon their hostile policy toward the North, in an apparent reference to U.S. sanctions and U.S.-South Korean military exercises .
South Korea’s defense ministry said last week that this year’s summer military exercises with the United States will include field training for the first time since 2018 alongside existing desktop computer simulation exercises.
In recent years, the militaries of South Korea and the US have canceled or scaled back some of their regular exercises due to concerns about COVID-19 and to support deadlocked US-led diplomacy aimed at getting North Korea to give up its nuclear program in exchange for economic and political benefits.
