North Korean leader Kim Jong Un said his forces would use nuclear weapons “without hesitation” if Pyongyang’s territory was attacked by the South and its ally the United States, state media reported Friday.
KCNA news agency quoted him as saying, “‘If’ the enemy… attempts to use armed forces while encroaching on the sovereignty of the DPRK… the DPRK will use all offensive forces at its disposal without hesitation , including nuclear weapons.” Having said this, using the abbreviation of the official name of the North.
Kim was speaking while inspecting a special forces military training base west of Pyongyang on Wednesday, KCNA reported.
The comments come after South Korea held a military parade earlier this week, in which its President Yun Suk Yeol threatened to “bring about the end of the North Korean regime” if Pyongyang used nuclear weapons.
“If North Korea attempts to use nuclear weapons, it will face a firm and forceful response from our military and the U.S.-ROK alliance,” Yoon said.
“That day will be the end of the North Korean regime,” he said, addressing thousands of service members gathered at Seoul Air Base for the event.
In response to those comments, Kim branded the South Korean leader a “puppet” and “an abnormal man”, KCNA reported.
Kim’s statements also referenced the South’s alliance with the United States, which is its major military partner.
Thousands of American soldiers are deployed in South Korea.
The South has no nuclear weapons of its own and is covered by the US nuclear umbrella.
The latest controversy comes weeks after the North first revealed images of a uranium enrichment facility, showing leader Kim visiting the site as he called for more centrifuges to boost the country’s nuclear arsenal Was.
The country, which conducted its first nuclear test in 2006 and is under UN sanctions for its banned weapons programs, had never before publicly disclosed details of its uranium enrichment facility.
Relations between North and South Korea are at their lowest level in years, with the North recently announcing the deployment of 250 ballistic missile launchers to its southern border.
Pyongyang has designated the South its “major enemy” and declared itself an “irreconcilable” nuclear weapons power.
North Korea has long violated UN sanctions, thanks to support from allies Russia and China.
