North Korea’s Kim Jong Un: ‘We Will Not Avoid War,’ South Korea Branded as ‘Enemy’
Eugene Park Views
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un at an important military factory on the 8th. [Photo= Yonhap News]
North Korean leader Kim Jon Un warned, “If South Korea dares to contemplate using force against our country or threatens our sovereignty and safety, we will not hesitate to mobilize all means and capabilities at our disposal to annihilate South Korea if such an opportunity arises completely.”
Kim emphasized that our top priorities in dealing with hostile countries, escalating their aggressive stance and military capabilities against us, should be strengthening our self-defensive national defense power and nuclear deterrent.
He also stressed that the inter-Korean relationship, as mentioned at the end of last year’s plenary session, is between “two hostile nations.” He asserted, “The historical moment has arrived to characterize South Korea, which has pursued a hostile confrontation for nearly 80 years to overthrow our regime and system, as the most hostile country to the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea.”
It is unusual for Kim to label our country as an “enemy” directly. In his speech at the National Defense Development Exhibition in October 2021, he stated, “Our main enemy is war itself, not South Korea, the United States, or any specific country or force.”
Minister of National Defense Shin Won Sik said he would develop security cooperation among Korea, the United States, and Japan about Kim’s remarks.
Shin, attending the 12th Korea National Strategy Institute-Brookings Institution International Conference held at The Plaza Hotel Seoul in Jung-gu, Seoul, said, “The Korea-US alliance and Korea-US-Japan cooperation are exemplary cases of international solidarity aiming for universal human values and rules-based international order” and “We will further develop security cooperation in various fields among the three countries of Korea, the United States, and Japan.”
The official elaborated that following the Camp David Declaration among the leaders of Korea, the United States, and Japan, security cooperation among these three nations has significantly intensified. He highlighted the acceleration of this collaboration by implementing a real-time information sharing system for North Korean missile warnings and conducting tripartite training exercises involving Korea, the United States, and Japan.
By. Yoon Sun Choi
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