Kim threatens to use nukes amid tensions with US, S Korea
SEOUL: North Korean leader Kim Jong Un warned he's ready to use his nuclear weapons in potential military conflicts with the United States and South Korea, state media said Thursday, as he unleashed fiery rhetoric against rivals 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 meant to boost internal unity in the impoverished country amid pandemic-related economic difficulties. While Kim has increasingly threatened his rivals with nuclear weapons, it's unlikely that he would use them first against the superior militaries of the U.S. and its allies, observers say. Our armed forces are completely prepared to respond to any crisis, and our country's nuclear war deterrent is also ready to mobilise its absolute power dutifully, exactly and swiftly in accordance with 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 U.S.-South Korea military drills targeting North Korea show the U.S.'s double standards and gangster-like aspects because it brands North Korea's routine military activities an apparent reference to its missile tests as provocations or threats.
Kim also alleged the new South Korean government of President Yoon Suk Yeol is led by confrontation maniacs and gangsters" who have gone further than previous South Korean conservative governments. Since taking office in May, the Yoon government has moved to strengthen Seoul's military alliance with the United States and bolster its capacity to neutralise North Korean nuclear threats including a preemptive strike capability. Talking about military action against our nation, which possesses absolute weapons that they fear the most, is preposterous and is very dangerous suicidal action, Kim said. Such a dangerous attempt will be immediately punished by our powerful strength and the Yoon Suk Yeol government and his military will be annihilated.