Kim Jong-un issues another warning that North Korea would ‘preemptively’ use nuclear weapons
- Kim Jong-un made the statement as he praised his top military officials over the staging of a massive military parade according to state media on Saturday
- North Korea has conducted 13 rounds of weapons launches in 2022 alone, including its first full-range test of an intercontinental ballistic missile since 2017
North Korean leader Kim Jong-un warned yet again that the North could preemptively use its nuclear weapons if threatened, as he praised his top military officials over the staging of a massive military parade in the capital, Pyongyang, this week.
Kim expressed “firm will” to continue developing his nuclear-armed military so that it could “preemptively and thoroughly contain and frustrate all dangerous attempts and threatening moves, including ever-escalating nuclear threats from hostile forces, if necessary,” the North’s official Korean Central News Agency said on Saturday.
KCNA said Kim called his military officials to praise their work on Monday’s parade, where the North showcased the largest weapons in its military’s nuclear programme. KCNA didn’t say when the meeting took place.
The parade marking the 90th anniversary of North Korea’s army came as Kim revives nuclear brinkmanship aimed at forcing the United States to accept the idea of his country as a nuclear power and remove crippling economic sanctions.
Speaking to thousands of troops and spectators mobilised for the event, Kim vowed to develop his nuclear forces at the “fastest possible speed” and threatened to use them if provoked. He said his nukes would “never be confined to the single mission of war deterrent” in situations where the North faces external threats to its unspecified “fundamental interests.”
Kim’s remarks were an apparent warning to the United States, which has recently deployed a nuclear aircraft carrier to the Sea of Japan, and South Korea, where conservative President-elect Yoon Suk Yeol will take office on May 10.
South Korea has said it has detected activity to restore tunnels at North Korea’s only known nuclear test site. In May 2018, Pyongyang said it had “completely” demolished the Punggye-ri site in the presence of foreign reporters.
The United States and its security allies South Korea and Japan have strengthened surveillance of North Korea.
He ‘sent a message’. So what can Asia take away from Kim Jong-un’s speech?
North Korea has conducted 13 rounds of weapons launches in 2022 alone, including its first full-range test of an ICBM since 2017, as Kim exploits a favourable environment to push forward its weapons programme as the UN Security Council remains divided and effectively paralysed over Russia’s war in Ukraine.
Nuclear negotiations between Washington and Pyongyang have been stalled since 2019 because of disagreements over a potential easing of US-led sanctions in exchange for North Korean disarmament steps.
Kim has stuck to his goals of simultaneously developing nuclear weapons and the country’s dismal economy in the face of international pressure and has shown no willingness to fully surrender a nuclear arsenal he sees as his biggest guarantee of survival.
Additional reporting by Kyodo
