South Korea on alert for armed clashes, nuclear test as Kim Jong-un threatens ‘major ripple’

Name: Kim Jong-un vows to accelerate war preparations, while the South holds rare defence drills
Uploaded: 2023-12-29T06:37:06.000Z
Duration: 2 min 12 s
Description: Kim Jong-un vows to accelerate war preparations, while the South holds rare defence drills

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un has instructed aides to devise plans that would unnerve the South early next year, Seoul’s spy agency has warned

It could mean a long-threatened seventh nuclear test – though given China’s opposition, some analysts say an armed border conflict is more likely

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South Korean villagers watch smoke rise from Yeonpyeong Island following shelling in 2010 that killed four civilians. A former North Korean spy chief accused of orchestrating the attack was recently rehabilitated by Pyongyang. Photo: Yonhap via AP

Park Chan-kyong

Published: 2:37pm, 29 Dec 2023

In a rare departure from its usual reticence, Seoul’s spy agency has revealed intelligence that North Korean leader Kim Jong-un aims to shock South Koreans early next year, with what analysts warn may be a possible nuclear test or armed clashes.

Kim has instructed his close aides to come up with measures to “create a major ripple in the South” ahead of crucial parliamentary elections due to be held in April, according to a press statement released by the National Intelligence Service (NIS) late on Thursday.

The instruction came shortly after the North on December 18 launched a Hwasong-18 intercontinental ballistic missile that had the range to hit anywhere in the United States. Pyongyang said the missile launch was in response to a US-led show of force it characterised as a “war” move, which included the arrival of an aircraft carrier and nuclear-powered submarine in South Korea.

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Kim Jong-un vows to accelerate war preparations, while the South holds rare defence drills

“It is highly likely that North Korea may carry out military and cyber provocations in 2024, the year of the general election in South Korea and the presidential election in the United States,” the NIS said.

The North’s propaganda agencies have not previously reported on Kim’s latest direction.

South Korea’s conservative JoongAng Daily said the report’s disclosure, a rare departure from standard NIS operating procedures, was apparently aimed at undermining the North’s provocations.

The validity of the NIS report is supported by Pyongyang’s reinstatement of three key military figures in recent months.