North Korean leader warns he will not hesitate to destroy his main rival.
(Baonghean.vn) - North Korean state media KCNA reported on January 10 that North Korean leader Kim Jong-un called for strengthening nuclear deterrence and warned he would not hesitate to "destroy" Pyongyang's main rival.
According to KCNA, North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, along with high-ranking party and military officials, inspected several arms factories in the South over two days, January 8-9. KCNA described the visit as an encouragement to arms factory workers “in their race to achieve record production targets for 2024.”
During this inspection tour, leader Kim Jong-un emphasized that South Korea is North Korea's "main enemy," and stated that Pyongyang's top priority is "strengthening its military capabilities for self-defense and nuclear war deterrence."
Relations between North Korea and South Korea are at one of their worst in decades, after leader Kim Jong-un enshrined a strategy to turn North Korea into a nuclear power in the constitution, and conducted several intercontinental ballistic missile tests.
North Korean leader Kim Jong-un stated that while North Korea would not "unilaterally" provoke a confrontation, it also "has no intention of avoiding a war."
"If South Korea attempts to use armed force against North Korea or threatens its sovereignty and security, Pyongyang will not hesitate to destroy Seoul by mobilizing all means and forces at its disposal," the KCNA news agency quoted Kim Jong-un as saying.
Kim Jong-un's inspection of the weapons factory comes amid accusations from the US and its allies, including South Korea and Japan, that North Korea has violated numerous international sanctions by transferring missiles to Russia, enabling Moscow to attack Ukraine.
In a joint statement on January 9, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, along with EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell and 47 foreign ministers, condemned the allegations and agreed to sanction North Korea's missile transfers to Russia with "the strongest possible terms."
The U.S. State Department statement said: “The transfer of these weapons increases the suffering of the Ukrainian people and undermines global denuclearization.”
According to the U.S., the alleged missile shipment "clearly" violated UN Security Council sanctions against North Korea, of which Russia is a permanent member. The U.S. State Department added that Washington is closely monitoring what Russia is providing to North Korea in exchange for this arms transfer.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov declined to comment on the statement on January 9.
