North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has issued another chilling warning, stating that his country will not hesitate to use nuclear weapons in potential conflicts with South Korea and the United States, The Associated Press reports.
Kim’s latest threat comes amidst heightened tensions on the Korean Peninsula and speculation that North Korea could escalate its provocations ahead of the upcoming US Presidential election.
In a speech delivered on Monday at the Kim Jong Un University of National Defense, Kim accused both South Korea and the US of deliberately provoking North Korea and escalating animosities. He claimed that their joint military exercises and the strengthening of their alliance, particularly the newly established deterrence guideline that integrates South Korean conventional forces with US nuclear weapons, pose a grave threat to the balance of power.
According to official Korean Central News Agency, Kim has warned that North Korea “will without hesitation use all its attack capabilities against its enemies” if they [South Korea, the US] attempt to use armed forces” against it.
“The use of nuclear weapons is not ruled out in this case,” he said.
Kim’s comments echo a pattern of nuclear rhetoric adopted by North Korea in 2022. The regime has repeatedly asserted its willingness to employ nuclear weapons preemptively if it deems the leadership in Pyongyang to be under threat.
Tensions have indeed escalated in recent weeks, with North Korea unveiling a facility for producing weapons-grade uranium and continuing a series of missile tests. South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol has suggested that North Korea’s recent actions are a deliberate attempt to draw US attention ahead of the presidential election, and predicts further provocations, potentially including a nuclear test explosion and a long-range missile test.
North Korea’s parliament was scheduled to convene on October 7, potentially to formalize a “two-state” system on the Korean Peninsula, effectively rejecting reconciliation with South Korea and codifying new national borders. This move would follow Kim’s January order to rewrite the constitution, removing the goal of peaceful Korean unification and declaring South Korea as a permanent enemy.
