Kim: N. Korea nuke forces have become a reality
Leader matches boasts with tact
TOKYO— North Korean leader Kim Jong-Un said Monday the United States should be aware that his country’s nuclear forces are now a reality, not a threat. But while Mr. Kim boasted that the entire United States was within range of his weapons, he also struck a conciliatory tone in his New Year’s address, vowing not to attack unless threatened.
He also wished success for the Winter Olympics set to begin in the South in February and suggesting the North may send a delegation to participate.
Mr. Kim, wearing a Western-style gray suit and tie, promised in his customary annual address to focus this year on producing nuclear warheads and missiles for operational deployment. He added that his country had achieved the historic feat of “completing” its nuclear forces and added he has a nuclear buttonon his desk.
“The U.S. should know that the button for nuclear weapons is on my table,” he said during the speech, as provisionally translated by The Associated Press. The official transcript of his address was expected to be released shortly. “The entire area of the U.S. mainland is within our nuclear strike range. ... The United States can never start a war against me and our country.”
Mr. Kim also called for improved relations with the South, an idea mentioned in speeches more often than it is met. He said the Pyeongchang Winter Olympics would be a good opportunity to showcase the status of the Korean nation.
He said the North and South could meet urgently to discuss the North sending a delegation.
“The Winter Olympic games that will be held soon in the South will be a good opportunity to display the status of the Korean nation, and we sincerely wish that the event will be held with good results,” he said.
The New Year’s address is an annual event in the North and is watched closely for indications of the direction and priorities Mr. Kim may adopt in the year ahead.
This year’s speech was seen as particularly important because of the high tensions over Pyongyang’s frequent missile launches and its nuclear test in 2017. The tests were the focus of fiery verbal exchanges between the North and President Donald Trump, who has derisively called Mr. Kim, “little rocket man.”
Mr. Kim also stressed North Korea’s economic achievements during the speech, and noted the importance of improving the nation’s standard of living.
A day earlier, officials said that South Korean authorities have seized a Panama-flagged oil tanker suspected of evading international sanctions by trading with North Korea.
An official from South Korea’s Foreign Ministry said the 5,100-ton KOTI and its crew members were being held at Pyeongtaek-Dangjin port on the country’s west coast amid an inspection over supposed “North Korea-related” activity.
An official from the Pyeongtaek Regional Office of Oceans and Fisheries, who also requested anonymity, confirmed that the vessel had been disallowed from leaving the port since Dec. 21.
The revelation comes days after South Korea said it was holding a Hong Kong-flagged ship and crew members over transferring petroleum products to a North Korean vessel in international waters in October. The Lighthouse Win more is believed to have transferred about 600 tons of refined petroleum products to the North Korean ship in international waters in the East China Sea, according to the Foreign Ministry.
Ship-to-ship trade with North Korea at sea is prohibited under U.N. sanctions adopted Sept. 11 over Pyongyang’s accelerated efforts to expand its nuclear weapons and ballistic missile program.