North Korea’s leader Kim Jong Un has warned that Pyongyang may use its nuclear weapons “preemptively” against enemy forces, state media reported on Saturday.
Kim told military commanders that the country must be able to “contain and thwart all dangerous attempts and threatening actions … if necessary” in order to maintain “the absolute superiority” of the North Korean military,” the official KCNA news agency said .
Pyongyang must continue to build its own arsenal in order to have “overwhelming military muscle that no power on earth can unleash,” he added.
The comments came just days after a military parade on April 25, when Kim said he could use the nuclear arsenal if the country saw its “fundamental interests” threatened.
Kim met with military command to praise his work at Monday’s parade, which marked the 90th anniversary of the country’s armed forces and featured intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBMs).
Despite the sanctions, North Korea has been pushing ahead with its military modernization project with a series of tests of banned weapons since the beginning of the year and ignoring US negotiation proposals.
Pyongyang tested a fullrange ICBM in March for the first time since 2017. And satellite images showed activity at a nuclear test site.
The test series comes as South Korea’s Presidentelect Yoon Sukyeol prepares to take power. He promised to crack down on Pyongyang.
Analysts say Kim’s warnings suggest he is not open to dialogue with the incoming Seoul government.
“Kim’s comments show that he has no interest in a relationship with the Yoon government in South Korea or in discussing denuclearization with the United States,” said LeifEric Easley, professor of international studies at Ewha University in South Korea Seoul.