Kim Jong-un Has No Intention of Avoiding War with South Korea

Chairman Kim Jong Un of North Korea has declared South Korea the ‘main enemy’ and stated that he has “no intention of avoiding war”. Following the statement by Kim Yo Jong, the Deputy Director of the Workers’ Party, Chairman Kim has raised the level of aggression towards South Korea which is analyzed as an intention to interfere in the general elections scheduled for April.

On the 10th, the Workers’ Party newspaper Rodong Sinmun and the Korean Central News Agency reported that Chairman Kim, while providing on-site guidance at important military factories on the 8th and 9th, stated, “We will not unilaterally decide on a major incident in the Korean Peninsula by our overwhelming power against the South Korean brethren, but we also have no intention of avoiding war.”

Chairman Kim threatened, “If South Korea dares to contemplate the use of force or threatens our sovereignty and safety, we will mobilize all means and capabilities at our disposal to annihilate South Korea without hesitation.”

He emphasized to the military factory workers that “What we should prioritize most in our relationship with the hostile countries that are intensifying their confrontational stance and heating up their military power against us is, first and foremost, strengthening our self-defensive national defense power and nuclear war deterrence.”

North Korea’s repeated hardline messages are interpreted as an attempt to divide public opinion in South Korea ahead of the April general elections. Seung-Hyun Moon, the Deputy Minister of Unification, mentioned the possibility of North Korea’s interference in the general elections during his appearance on KTV ‘Live Broadcast South Korea 1’ on the 10th. Deputy Minister Moon expressed concern, saying, “The general elections are very important for determining the future direction of the country, and North Korea will continue its psychological warfare against the South, trying to divide public opinion and put pressure on the government.”

He added, “The Ministry of Unification should be mindful of various false information dissemination, such as cyber hacking, provocations, attacks, etc. Recently, a fake news-related task force has been created, and the Ministry of Unification has participated. We will recognize North Korea’s intentions and respond wisely through various efforts to prevent domestic psychological warfare and manipulation.”

The Ministry of Unification, through a statement on the same day, criticized, “North Korea’s emphasis on war preparation proves that it is fearful and anxious about our US-Korea extended deterrence strengthening and other deterrence enhancements. North Korea has been continuously attempting various ways to increase military tension on the Korean Peninsula, including threats of military provocation against us since the Party’s plenary meeting and the beginning of the year. Such reckless actions by North Korea are nothing more than a tired tactic to shake our society, by inflaming anti-South sentiment among North Korean residents and deflecting dissatisfaction with the North Korean regime outward to avoid internal crises.”

The statement continued, “The government strongly condemns this and urges North Korea to immediately stop its reckless military threats and psychological warfare against the South. In addition, the government reiterates that it will firmly respond to any provocations based on the strong US-Korea alliance, and consistently promote the normalization of inter-Korean relations based on principles.”

On the 4th, the Ministry of Unification also issued a statement saying, “Since the end of the year party plenary meeting and the beginning of the year, North Korea has been threatening and disparaging us through Kim Yo Jong’s statement, etc., creating tension on the Korean Peninsula and attempting to divide our society. We urge them to immediately stop these futile attempts to shake our free democratic system.”