Kim vows to keep nukes as conflict simmers
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un says his country will never abandon the nuclear weapons and missiles it needs to counter the United States, which he accused of pushing a pressure campaign to weaken the North’s defences and eventually collapse his government.
State media said yesterday Kim made the comments during a speech at North Korea’s rubber-stamp parliament on Thursday where members also passed a law that authorised North Korea’s military to “automatically” execute nuclear strikes against enemy forces if its leadership comes under attack.
He also criticised rival South Korea over its plans to expand its conventional strike capabilities and revive large-scale military exercises with the US to counter the North’s growing threats, describing them as a “dangerous” military action that raises tensions.
Kim has made increasingly provocative threats of nuclear conflict toward the US and its allies in Asia in recent months, also warning the North would proactively use its nuclear weapons when threatened. His comments underscored growing animosity in the region as he accelerates the expansion of his nuclear weapons programme.
Kim also addressed domestic issues in his speech, saying North Korea would begin its long-delayed rollout of Covid-19 vaccines in November. He didn’t specify how many doses it would have, where they would come from, or how they would be administered across his population of 26 million people.
Gavi, the nonprofit that runs the UN-backed Covax distribution programme, said in June it understood North Korea had accepted an offer of vaccines from China. Gavi said at the time the specifics were unclear.
Kim’s speech came a day after South Korea extended its latest olive branch, proposing a meeting with North Korea to resume temporary reunions of relatives separated by the
1950-53 Korean War, which were last held in 2018.
Experts say it’s highly unlikely North Korea would accept the South’s offer considering the deterioration in inter-Korean ties amid the stalemate in nuclear talks between Washington and Pyongyang. The USNorth Korean diplomacy derailed in
2019 over disagreements in exchanging the release of crippling sanctions against the North and its denuclearisation steps.