North Korean leader Kim Jong-un warned again that he could use nuclear weapons in potential conflicts with South Korea and the US, as he accused them of provoking North Korea and raising animosities on the Korean Peninsula, state media reported yesterday.
Kim has issued threats to use nuclear weapons pre-emptively numerous times, but his latest warning came as experts said that North Korea could ramp up hostilities ahead of next month’s US presidential election.
In a Monday speech at a university named after him, the Kim Jong-un National Defense University, he said that North Korea “will without hesitation use all its attack capabilities against its enemies” if they attempt to use armed forces against North Korea, the Korean Central News Agency reported.
Photo: AFP / KCNA VIA KNS
“The use of nuclear weapons is not ruled out in this case,” he said.
Kim said North Korea’s nuclear response posture must be fully enhanced because South Korea and the US are pushing to beef up their military alliance based on joint nuclear and strategic planning, a move that he said would increase the danger of breaking the balance of power on the Korean Peninsula.
Kim was apparently referring to the South Korea-US deterrence guideline that the two nations signed in July to integrate South Korean conventional capabilities with US nuclear weapons to better deal with North Korea’s evolving nuclear threats. South Korea has no nuclear weapons.
Since adopting an aggressive nuclear doctrine in 2022, North Korea has repeatedly vowed to use nuclear weapons first if it perceives the leadership in Pyongyang as under threat, but many experts question if North Korea could really do so because its military is outgunned by the US and South Korean forces.
US and South Korean officials have warned that an attempt by North Korea to use nuclear weapons would result in the end of the Kim government.
Tensions on the Korean Peninsula have deepened, with North Korea unveiling a facility to produce weapons-grade uranium, a nuclear ingredient, and continuing a run of missile tests.
In responses to questions from The Associated Press, South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol said that North Korea’s disclosure of that nuclear site was likely an attempt to grab US attention ahead of next month’s presidential election, and that North Korea would likely stage major provocations such as a nuclear test and a long-range missile test.
Many analysts say North Korea would likely leverage its enlarged nuclear arsenal for US concessions such as sanctions relief after a new US administration is inaugurated.
North Korea earlier said its rubber-stamp parliament was to meet on Monday, but as of yesterday, state media had not said whether the parliament meeting began as scheduled.
Observers say the parliament meeting was likely meant to constitutionally declare a hostile “two-state” system on the Korean Peninsula to formally reject reconciliation with South Korea and codify new national borders.
Kim in January ordered the rewriting of the constitution to remove the long-running state goal of a peaceful Korean unification and cement South Korea as an “invariable principal enemy.”
All exchange and cooperation programs between the two Koreas remain dormant since a broader US-North Korea diplomacy on North Korea’s nuclear program collapsed in 2019.
North Korea since May has floated thousands of trash-carrying balloons toward South Korea. South Korea’s military yesterday said that North Korea was again launching such balloons across the border.
Botswana is this week holding a presidential election energized by a campaign by one previous head-of-state to unseat his handpicked successor whose first term has seen rising discontent amid a downturn in the diamond-dependent economy. The charismatic Ian Khama dramatically returned from self-exile six weeks ago determined to undo what he has called a “mistake” in handing over in 2018 to Botswanan President Mokgweetsi Masisi, who seeks re-election tomorrow. While he cannot run as president again having served two terms, Khama has worked his influence and standing to support the opposition in the southern African country of 2.6 million people. “The return of
SOUTH CHINA SEA TENSIONS: Beijing’s ‘pronounced aggressiveness’ and ‘misbehavior’ forced countries to band together, the Philippine defense chief said The Philippines is confident in the continuity of US policies in the Asia-Pacific region after the US presidential election, Philippine Secretary of Defense Gilberto Teodoro said, underlining that bilateral relations would remain strong regardless of the outcome. The alliance between the two countries is anchored in shared security goals and a commitment to uphold international law, including in the contested waters of the South China Sea, Teodoro said. “Our support for initiatives, bilaterally and multilaterally ... is bipartisan, aside from the fact that we are operating together on institutional grounds, on foundational grounds,” Teodoro said in an interview. China’s “misbehavior” in the South
‘SHARP COMPETITION’: Australia is to partner with US-based Lockheed Martin to make guided multiple launch rocket systems, an Australian defense official said Australia is to ramp up missile manufacturing under a plan unveiled yesterday by a top defense official, who said bolstering weapons stockpiles would help keep would-be foes at bay. Australian Minister for Defence Industry Pat Conroy said the nation would establish a homegrown industry to produce long-range guided missiles and other much-needed munitions. “Why do we need more missiles? Strategic competition between the United States and China is a primary feature of Australia’s security environment,” Conroy said in a speech. “That competition is at its sharpest in our region, the Indo-Pacific.” Australia is to partner with US-based weapons giant Lockheed Martin to make
Pets are not forgotten during Mexico’s Day of the Dead celebrations, when even Fido and Tiger get a place at the altars Mexican families set up to honor their deceased loved ones, complete with flowers, candles and photographs. Although the human dead usually get their favorite food or drink placed on altars, the nature of pet food can make things a little different. The holiday has roots in Mexican pre-Hispanic customs, as does the reverence for animals. The small, hairless dogs that Mexicans kept before the Spanish conquest were believed to help guide their owners to the afterlife, and were sometimes given