North Korean state media reported on Thursday that the country’s leader, Kim Jong Un, warned he is prepared to use nuclear weapons if a military conflict with the U.S. and South Korea were to occur.
Kim made the comments on the country’s “Victory Day,” observed annually on July 27 to commemorate the armistice that ended open warfare in the 1950–1953 Korean War, according to the Associated Press.
“Our armed forces are completely prepared to respond to any crisis, and our country’s nuclear war deterrent is also ready to mobilize its absolute power dutifully, exactly, and swiftly in accordance with its mission,” Kim said.
He claimed that the U.S. was “demonizing” his country to provoke hostilities on the Korean peninsula. He further asserted that routine military exercises between the U.S. and South Korea highlight “double standards” and “gangster-like” characteristics because the two allies often portray North Korea’s military activities as provocations or threats.
Leif-Eric Easley, a professor at Ewha University in Seoul, spoke with the Associated Press, stating, “Kim’s rhetoric inflates external threats to justify his militarily focused and economically struggling regime. North Korea’s nuclear and missile programs are in violation of international law, but Kim tries to depict his destabilizing arms buildup as a righteous effort at self-defense.”
Kim also alleged the recently-elected South Korean government of President Yoon Suk Yeol is led by “confrontation maniacs” and “gangsters” who have gone further than previous South Korean governments.
Since taking office in May, the Yoon government has strengthened Seoul’s military alliance with the U.S. and bolstered its capacity to neutralize Pyongyang’s nuclear capabilities.
With the new South Korean administration poised to restart large-scale joint military drills with the U.S. next month, Kim’s government has grown more bellicose in recent months. Pyongyang conducted 18 rounds of missile tests this year, and, by the estimations of Seoul officials, it is ready for a seventh nuclear test, according to the Associated Press.
Yoon’s administration voiced “deep regret” over Kim’s warning and stated that it is ready to respond “powerfully, effectively” to any provocation by North Korea.
Yoon’s presidential national security office issued a statement expressing the South Korean government’s willingness to protect its national security and the safety of its citizens. It pleaded with North Korea to resume the stalled negotiations between the two countries so the peninsula could move toward disarmament.