New Delhi: North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has ordered its military to thoroughly annihilate South Korea and the US if they initiate a military confrontation, media reports said.
Reports said that South Korea and the US have ramped up military and political cooperation in 2023 as North Korea conducted a record number of weapons tests, including of a new solid-fuelled intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM), and put its first spy satellite into orbit.
The Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) on Monday reported that during a meeting with North Korea’s top commanding officers in Pyongyang on New Year’s Eve, Kim said his military should “annihilate” the enemy if provoked.
“If the enemy opts for military confrontation and provocation against the DPRK, our army should deal a deadly blow to thoroughly annihilate them by mobilising all the toughest means and potentialities without [a] moment’s hesitation,” Kim said using the abbreviation of North Korea’s official name.
Reports said that Kim told the meeting he would no longer seek reconciliation and reunification with South Korea, noting the uncontrollable crisis that he said was triggered by Seoul and Washington.
The North Korean leader has already indicated that he plans to put three more spy satellites into space and further develop his country’s weapons arsenal this year.
Since 2022, North Korea has conducted more than 100 missile tests, prompting the U.S. and South Korea to expand their joint military drills. Pyongyang declared itself an “irreversible” nuclear power in 2022 and has repeatedly said it will never give up its nuclear weapons programme, which it views as essential for its survival.
The United Nations Security Council (UNSC) has adopted many resolutions calling on North Korea to halt its nuclear and ballistic missile programmes since Pyongyang first conducted a nuclear test in 2006.
North Korea has also tried to strengthen its ties with China and Russia, which blocked efforts by the US and its partners in the UNSC to toughen UN sanctions on North Korea over its weapons tests.
With agency inputs