SEOUL—North Korean leader Kim Jong Un called for a strengthened nuclear deterrent and warned he would have no hesitation in “annihilating” the rival South, while touring major weapons factories, state media reported Wednesday.
Labeling South Korea the “principal enemy,” he said Pyongyang’s priority should be to “bolster up the military capabilities for self-defense and the nuclear war deterrent first of all”, according to the official Korean Central News Agency.
Relations between the two Koreas are at one of their lowest points in decades, after Kim enshrined the country’s status as a nuclear power into the constitution and test-fired several advanced intercontinental ballistic missiles.
Kim said that while the North — formally known as the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea — would not “unilaterally” trigger a confrontation, it had “no intention of avoiding a war as well,” according to KCNA.
“If the ROK dares attempt to use armed forces against the DPRK or threaten its sovereignty and security and such opportunity comes, we will have no hesitation in annihilating the ROK by mobilizing all means and forces in our hands,” KCNA reported, using an acronym for the southern Republic of Korea.
Kim, accompanied by senior party and military officials, conducted his tour of multiple munitions factories on Monday and Tuesday, KCNA said, describing the visits as encouragement for weapons workers “in the struggle for attaining the huge production goal for the new year”.
The United States and dozens of allies, including South Korea and Japan, accuse North Korea of violating multiple international sanctions by transferring missiles to Russia to help bolster its military invasion of Ukraine.
Meanwhile, in Washington, nearly 50 countries joined the United States in condemning North Korea’s alleged transfer of missiles to Russia, demanding an immediate end to the cooperation.
The United States last week said that Russia, short of weapons nearly two years into its invasion, attacked Ukraine with missiles from North Korea, which is under a slew of international sanctions for its missile and nuclear work.
In a joint statement, Secretary of State Antony Blinken was joined by EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell and 47 foreign ministers in condemning the alleged transfer in “the strongest possible terms.”
“The transfer of these weapons increases the suffering of the Ukrainian people, supports Russia’s war of aggression, and undermines the global non-proliferation regime,” said the statement released by the US State Department.
They said the alleged missile shipment “flagrantly” violated sanctions on North Korea by the United Nations Security Council, of which Russia is a permanent member.
“We are closely monitoring what Russia provides to the DPRK in return for these weapons exports,” said the statement, referring to the North by its official name, the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea.
They called on the two countries to abide by Security Council resolutions and “immediately cease all activities that violate them.”
The 47 countries that signed overwhelmingly came from Europe and also included South Korea and Japan, treaty-bound allies of the United States.
Other signatories include Israel, which has been cautious in its statements on Russia — heavily involved in neighboring Syria — but also has counted on US support in its three-month military campaign in Gaza in response to a Hamas attack.