Kim pledges to ‘terminate’ any nation that launches an attack on North Korea
Seoul, SOUTH KOREA(EFE) – North Korean leader Kim Jong-un he will not hesitate to “end” any adversary that uses force against Pyongyang, and once again described the South as its most “hostile” nation in a speech published Friday by state media.
Kim spoke during a commemorative event held Thursday during a visit to the North Korean Ministry of National Defense, to celebrate the 76th anniversary of the country’s army.
“If our enemies dare to use force against our country, we will make a bold decision that will change history and will not hesitate to mobilize all the superpowers at our disposal to put an end to them,” Kim said in his speech reported by the state agency KCNA.
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The North Korean dictator also once again called South Korea the North’s main “hostile” nation and a “puppet” country, and highlighted the national policy to “occupy and pacify their territory in case of emergency” for the “nation’s eternal security and future peace and stability.”
Kim also noted that peace “is not something to be begged for or exchanged for through negotiation,” and reaffirmed that the North has “shaken off the unrealistic constraints of having to strive for formal dialogue or cooperation” with the South.
North Korea also announced the previous day that it has abolished a series of laws for economic cooperation with the South, another gesture that worsens bilateral ties.
After the failure of denuclearization talks with the US in 2019, North Korea has opted to modernize its weapons, reject offers of dialogue and get closer to Beijing and Moscow, with whom it has exchanged weapons, while Seoul and Washington have reinforced their deterrence mechanisms and military cooperation, taking the peninsula to new levels of tension.
North Korea’s Kim was accompanied at the army anniversary celebration by his daughter Kim Ju-ae, who has appeared by his side at many public events and whom South Korean intelligence sees as his most likely successor. EFE
