North Korea will not “unilaterally” trigger a conflict, the North Korean number one said, according to KCNA, but also has “no intention of avoiding war.”
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un called for a stronger nuclear deterrent and warned he would not hesitate to “destroy” South Korea, the country's “main enemy,” state media reported on Wednesday.
Kim Jong Un visited several munitions factories on Monday and Tuesday accompanied by high-ranking party and military officials. He said on that occasion that Pyongyang's priority must be “first and foremost strengthening military self-defense capabilities and nuclear deterrence,” according to the official KCNA agency.
Two countries are technically still at war
“If (South Korea) dares to attempt to use its armed forces against (North Korea) or threaten its sovereignty and security, we will not hesitate to destroy (North Korea) by mobilizing all means and forces” in our possession, warned Kim Jong Un according to the official agency.
The two Koreas have technically still been at war since the end of the conflict in 1953, which ended with an armistice rather than a peace treaty. For more than 70 years, the peninsula has experienced alternating periods of heightened tension and relative relaxation.
Their relationship is currently at its lowest point in decades. Last year, North Korea enshrined its status as a nuclear power in its constitution and fired several intercontinental ballistic missiles in violation of UN resolutions.
The United States, South Korea and Japan accuse Pyongyang of violating international sanctions by sending missiles to Russia, which is at war with Ukraine.