North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has ordered his military to “completely destroy” the United States and South Korea if provoked. State media reported on Monday that Kim gave the order at a meeting with commanding army officers the previous day
From
HYUNG-JIN KIM Associated Press
December 31, 2023, 8:57 p.m. ET
• 4 min reading
SEOUL, South Korea – North Korean leader Kim Jong Un ordered his military to “completely destroy” the United States and South Korea if provoked, state media reported Monday, after vowing to bolster national defenses to deal with the to deal with what he described as an unprecedented U.S. government-led confrontation.
Kim is expected to step up his weapons testing in 2024 ahead of the US presidential election in November. Many experts say he likely believes his expanded nuclear arsenal would allow him to extract concessions from the United States if former President Donald Trump is re-elected.
At a major five-day ruling party meeting last week, Kim said he would launch three more military spy satellites this year, produce more nuclear materials and develop attack drones, in what observers said was an attempt to increase his influence in future diplomacy with the United States
At a meeting on Sunday with commanding army officers, Kim said there was an urgent need to sharpen “the treasured sword” to protect national security, an apparent reference to his country's nuclear weapons program. According to the official Korean Central News Agency, he referred to “the confrontational military measures taken by the United States and other enemy forces.”
Kim stressed that “our army should deal a fatal blow to them to thoroughly destroy them by mobilizing all the strongest means and capabilities without hesitation” if they choose military confrontation and provocations against North Korea, KCNA said.
In his New Year's address on Monday, South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol said he would strengthen his military's preemptive strike, missile defense and retaliatory capabilities in response to North Korea's nuclear threat.
“The Republic of Korea builds real, lasting peace through strength, not a submissive peace that depends on the goodwill of the opponent,” Yoon said, using South Korea's official name.
At the party congress, Kim described South Korea as “a hemiplegic deformity and colonial subordinate state” whose society was “tainted by Yankee culture.” He said his military must use all available means, including nuclear weapons, to “suppress the entire territory of South Korea” in the event of a conflict.
South Korea's Defense Ministry warned in response that if North Korea attempted to use nuclear weapons, South Korean and U.S. forces would overwhelmingly punish the country, leading to the end of the Kim government.
Experts say there could be minor military clashes between North and South Korea along the heavily armed border this year. They say North Korea is also expected to test intercontinental ballistic missiles that could reach the U.S. mainland, as well as other important new weapons.
In 2018 and 2019, Kim met Trump in three rounds of talks about North Korea's growing nuclear arsenal. The diplomacy collapsed after the U.S. rejected Kim's offer to dismantle his main nuclear complex, a limited step, in return for a broad reduction in U.S.-imposed sanctions.
Since 2022, North Korea has conducted more than 100 missile tests, prompting the United States and South Korea to expand their joint military exercises. North Korea has also sought to strengthen its ties with China and Russia, blocking efforts by the United States and its U.N. Security Council partners to increase U.N. sanctions against North Korea over its weapons tests.
KCNA said Kim and Chinese President Xi Jinping exchanged New Year's messages on strengthening bilateral ties on Monday. North Korea is suspected of supplying conventional weapons to Russia's war in Ukraine in return for advanced Russian technologies to improve the North's military programs.
Estimates of the size of North Korea's nuclear arsenal vary, ranging from about 20 to 30 bombs to more than 100. Many foreign experts say North Korea still has some technological hurdles to overcome to produce viable nuclear-armed intercontinental ballistic missiles, even if it has nuclear missiles with lesser capabilities Range-capable missiles can reach South Korea and Japan.