SEOUL, South Korea (AP) – North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has again warned that the North could use its nuclear weapons as a precaution if threatened, praising senior military officials for a mass military parade in the capital Pyongyang this week.
Kim has expressed a “firm will” to continue to develop its nuclear army so that it can “preventively and thoroughly deter and thwart all dangerous attempts and threatening actions, including ever-increasing nuclear threats from hostile forces if necessary,” the official Korean service of the North. This was announced on Saturday by the Central News Agency.
KCNA said Kim called on his military to praise their work during Monday’s parade, where the North showed off the largest weapons in its nuclear arsenal, including intercontinental ballistic missiles that could potentially reach the homeland. USA. The North has also launched a variety of short-range solid-fuel missiles designed to be launched from land vehicles or submarines, which pose a growing threat to South Korea and Japan.
KCNA did not say when Kim’s meeting with the military took place.
The parade marking the 90th anniversary of the North Korean military took place when Kim revived the nuclear fringe, aimed at forcing the United States to accept the idea of his country as a nuclear power and lift crippling economic sanctions.
Speaking to thousands of soldiers and spectators mobilized for the parade, Kim promised to develop her nuclear forces “as fast as possible” and threatened to use them if provoked. He said his nuclear weapons “will never be limited to a single deterrent mission” in situations where the North faces external threats to its “core interests”.
Kim’s comments suggest he will continue the provocative weapons test to increase pressure on Washington and Seoul. South Korea will open a new conservative government in May, which could take a tougher line on Pyongyang after a policy of outgoing Liberal President Moon Jae-in’s engagement, which has yielded few results.
Kim’s threat to use his nuclear forces to protect his country’s ambiguous “fundamental interests” is likely a harbinger of an escalating nuclear doctrine that could raise more concerns for South Korea, Japan and the United States, experts say.
North Korea has conducted 13 rounds of gun launches so far this year, including its first full-scale ICBM test since 2017, while Kim uses a favorable environment to push through his weapons program as the UN Security Council remains divided and effectively paralyzed. the Russian war in Ukraine.
There are also indications that North Korea is rebuilding tunnels at a nuclear test site that was last active in 2017. Some experts say the North may try to conduct a new test sometime between the inauguration of South Africa’s newly elected president. Korea’s Yun Suk Yel on May 10 and his planned summit with US President Joe Biden on May 21 to maximize the political impact.
U.S. State Department Deputy Spokeswoman Jalina Porter said the United States was aware of reports that North Korea might be preparing to conduct a nuclear test that she said would be deeply destabilizing for the region and undermine the global non-proliferation regime.
“We call on the DPRK to refrain from further destabilizing activities and instead engage in a serious and sustained dialogue,” she said, citing North Korea as its official name, the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea.
Kim’s recent remarks followed a fiery statement from his influential sister earlier this month, in which she criticized South Korea’s defense minister for promoting pre-emptive strikes against the North. She said her country’s nuclear forces would destroy conventional forces in the South if provoked.
Yun, during his campaign, also spoke of improving the South’s capabilities for preventive strikes and missile defense. He also vowed to boost South Korea’s defense over its alliance with the United States.
While ICBM’s Kim collection has garnered much international attention, North Korea from 2019 is also expanding its arsenal of short-range solid-propellant missiles threatening South Korea.
The North has described some of these missiles as “tactical” weapons, experts say, threatening to arm them with smaller nuclear bombs on the battlefield and use them actively during a conventional war to blunt stronger conventional forces. South Korea and the United States. About 28,500 American troops are stationed south.
North Korea could use its next nuclear test to claim the ability to build a small nuclear warhead to fit on those missiles or other weapons it recently tested, including a suspected hypersonic missile and a long-range cruise missile. , analysts say. Smaller warheads would also be needed to pursue the North for a multi-warhead ICBM.
“Solid propellant missiles are easier to hide, move and launch quickly, making them less vulnerable to pre-emptive strikes,” said Leif-Eric Isley, a professor of international studies at Ewha Womans University in Seoul.
“Taken together with ambitions for tactical nuclear warheads, submarine launches and more sophisticated intermediate balloons, Pyongyang is not just trying to deter an attack. Its goals extend to overtaking South Korea in an arms race and forcing the United States to reduce sanctions and security cooperation with Seoul, Isley added.
Nuclear talks between Washington and Pyongyang have stalled since 2019 over disagreements over potential easing of US sanctions in exchange for steps to disarm North Korea.
Kim is sticking to his goals of simultaneously developing nuclear weapons and the country’s grim economy, facing international pressure, and has shown no desire to surrender a fully nuclear arsenal that he sees as his greatest guarantee of survival.
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