‘ Nuclear button’ always on my desk, says Kim
We must massproduce nuclear warheads and ballistic missiles — Kim Jong- Un, North Korea leader
Kim Jong- Un vowed North Korea would massproduce nuclear warheads and missiles in a defiant New Year message Monday suggesting he would continue to accelerate a rogue weapons programme that has stoked international tensions.
Kim, who said on Monday that he always had a nuclear launch button on his desk, has presided over multiple missile tests in recent months and the North’s sixth and most powerful nuclear test in September. “We must mass- produce nuclear warheads and ballistic missiles and speed up their deployment,” said Kim in his annual address to the nation.
He reiterated his claims that North Korea had achieved its goal of becoming a nuclear state but insisted its expansion of the weapons programme was a defensive measure. “We should always keep readiness to take immediate nuclear counter- attacks against the enemy’s scheme for a nuclear war.”
North Korean leader Kim Jong- un warned the United States on Monday that he has a “nuclear button” on his table but offered an apparent olive branch to South Korea in a New Year message, saying he was prepared for talks and may send a team to the Winter Olympics there.
Mr Kim struck a generally defiant note after a year of rising tensions marked by the North’s multiple missile launches and its sixth and most powerful nuclear test — purportedly of a hydrogen bomb.
“We must mass- produce nuclear warheads and ballistic missiles and speed up their deployment,” he said in his annual televised address to the nation.
He reiterated his claim that his country had achieved its goal of becoming a nuclear state but insisted the expansion of the weapons programme was a defensive measure.
“We should always keep readiness to take immediate nuclear counterattacks against the enemy’s scheme for a nuclear war.”
“( The North) can cope with any kind of nuclear threats from the US and has a strong nuclear deterrence that is able to prevent the US from playing with fire,” Mr Kim said on Monday.
“The nuclear button is always on my table. The US must realise this is not blackmail but reality.”
When asked for a response to Mr Kim’s claim that he had a nuclear button on his desk, Mr Trump said “We’ll see, we’ll see”, in comments to reporters during the New Year’s Eve party at his Mar- a- Lago resort in Florida.
Mr Kim also sugared his speech Monday with a conciliatory tone towards Seoul, indicating for the first time that the North is considering taking part in the South’s Winter Olympics next month.
“( The Olympics) will serve as a good chance to display our Korean people’s grace toward the world and we sincerely hope the Games will be a success,” he said.
The North and the South should “depart from the past, improve relations and take decisive measures to make a breakthrough in efforts to achieve reunification”, he said.
South Korea’s presidential Blue House welcomed the dialogue offer.
“Should the Olympics be staged succesfully, it will contribute to peace not only on the Korean peninsula but in the region and the world as well,” it said in a statement.