North Korean leader warns not to 'hesitate to destroy' 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 that he would not hesitate to "destroy" Pyongyang's main rival.
According to KCNA, leader Kim Jong-un, along with senior party and military officials, inspected several weapons factories in the South on January 8-9. KCNA described the visit as an encouragement for weapons production workers “in the race to achieve a record production target for 2024.”
During this inspection trip, leader Kim Jong-un emphasized that South Korea is North Korea's "main enemy" and said that Pyongyang's top priority is "strengthening military capabilities for self-defense and deterrence of nuclear war."
Relations between North Korea and South Korea are at one of their worst points in decades, after leader Kim Jong-un enshrined his strategy to turn North Korea into a nuclear power in his constitution, and test-fired several intercontinental ballistic missiles.
Leader Kim Jong-un said that although North Korea will not “unilaterally” provoke a confrontation, it also has “no intention to avoid a war.”
“If South Korea tries to use force against the DPRK or threaten its sovereignty and security, Pyongyang will not hesitate to destroy Seoul by mobilizing all means and forces at its disposal,” KCNA news agency quoted Kim Jong-un as saying.
Kim Jong-un's inspection of a weapons factory comes as the US and its allies, including South Korea and Japan, have accused North Korea of violating international sanctions by transferring missiles to Russia, helping Moscow attack Ukraine.
In a joint statement on January 9, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken joined EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell and 47 foreign ministers in condemning the allegations and agreeing to sanction North Korea's missile transfers to Russia in "the strongest possible terms."
“The transfer of these weapons adds to the suffering of the Ukrainian people, and undermines global denuclearization,” the State Department said in a statement.
The alleged missile shipment was a “clear violation” of sanctions imposed on North Korea by the United Nations Security Council, of which Russia is a permanent member, according to the US. The US State Department added that Washington is closely monitoring what Russia provides to North Korea in exchange for the weapons transfer.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov on January 9 declined to comment on this statement./.