Kim Jong Un threatens to destroy South Korea with nuclear strikes if provoked

Kim said his military "will not hesitate to use all offensive forces it possesses, including nuclear weapons," if South Korea tries to use armed forces that encroach on North Korea's sovereignty

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Kim Jong Un, Photo: Reuters
Kim Jong Un, Photo: Reuters
Disclaimer: The translations are mostly done through AI translator and might not be 100% accurate.

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has threatened to use nuclear weapons and permanently destroy South Korea if provoked, state media reported, after the South Korean leader warned that the Kim regime would fall if it tried to use nuclear weapons.

The exchange of such rhetoric between the rival Koreas is nothing new, but the latest comments come amid heightened animosity following Pyongyang's recent disclosure of its nuclear facility and continued missile tests. Next week, observers say North Korea's parliament is expected to constitutionally declare a hostile "two-state" system on the Korean peninsula, formally rejecting reconciliation with South Korea and codifying new national borders.

During a visit to a special operations force unit, Kim said his military "will not hesitate to use all offensive forces it possesses, including nuclear weapons," if South Korea tries to use armed forces that encroach on North Korea's sovereignty, according to the North's official Korean Central News Agency agency.

"If such a situation arises, the permanent existence of Seoul and the Republic of Korea would become impossible," Kim said, using South Korea's official name.

Kim's statement was in response to South Korean President Jun Suk-jeol's speech during his country's Armed Forces Day celebration on Tuesday. Unveiling South Korea's most powerful Hyunmu-5 ballistic missile and other conventional weapons that could target North Korea, Yun said the day North Korea tries to use nuclear weapons will be the end of Kim's government as Kim will face a "decisive and overwhelming response." of the South Korean-American alliance.

Kim responded that Jun's address fully betrays his "belligerent audacity" and shows "security unrest and the irritating psychology of the puppet forces."

In a mocking comment, Kim called Jun an "abnormal man", saying that "the puppet Jun boasted of a massive counter-action by military forces on the doorstep of a nuclear-armed state".

On Thursday, Kim's sister and senior official, Kim Yo Jong, also mocked South Korea's unveiling of the Hyunmu-5 missile, saying there was no way South Korea could counter North Korea's nuclear forces with conventional weapons.

Since adopting the Escalating Nuclear Doctrine in 2022, Kim has repeatedly threatened to use nuclear weapons preemptively. But many foreign experts say he remains unlikely to use his nuclear weapons first because his military is outnumbered by the US and its allies. South Korea and the US signed defense guidelines in July to integrate South Korea's conventional capabilities with US nuclear forces to better deal with North Korea's advancing nuclear program. South Korea does not have nuclear weapons.

Hostilities between the Koreas are at their worst point in years, with Kim's provocative series of missile tests and South Korean-US military exercises intensifying in a cycle of "love for love". All communication channels and exchange programs between the rivals have been suspended since 2019, when a broader US-North Korean diplomatic effort to end North Korea's nuclear program collapsed.

In January, Kim called for changes to North Korea's constitution to eliminate the idea of ​​a peaceful reunification between the war-torn countries and to cement Seoul as the "unchangeable arch-enemy."

He also reiterated that his country does not recognize the Northern Limit Line, the western sea border drawn by the US-led United Nations Command at the end of the 1950-53 Korean War. He called for the new Constitution to clearly define the northern territories. North Korea has traditionally insisted on a border that extends deep into waters currently controlled by South Korea.

South Korea said on Friday that North Korea is again sending balloons believed to be carrying garbage across the border into South Korea. Since late May, North Korea has launched thousands of debris balloons toward South Korea, prompting South Korea to continue broadcasting anti-Pyongyang propaganda in border areas.

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