Kim Jong Un vows to boost North Korea’s nuclear arsenal
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un vowed to speed up his nation’s development of its nuclear arsenal, state media reported Tuesday, as concerns over the country’s nuclear capabilities grow.
“The nuclear forces of our Republic should be fully prepared to fulfill their responsible mission and put their unique deterrent in motion at any time,” Kim said, according to Reuters which cited state media Korean Central News Agency.
While the dictator said the mission of North Korea’s nuclear arsenal is to deter war, it “can never be confined to the single mission.”
“If any forces try to violate the fundamental interests of our state, our nuclear forces will have to decisively accomplish its unexpected second mission,” Kim said.
Kim did not directly detail what he meant by “second mission,” however some experts have said it could indicate using nuclear force “preemptively.”
The North Korean leader’s comments came amid a large military parade featuring intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBMs) and other weapons that honored the 90th anniversary of the founding of the Korean People’s Revolutionary Army. KCNA later shared images showing the Hwasong-17 – the nation’s largest known ICBM – included in the parade.
Hundreds of people, including Kim’s wife Ri Sol Ju, were in attendance.
Late last month, Pyongyang announced it successfully test-fired a Hwasong-17 missile that was capable of carrying multiple nuclear warheads and hitting the US mainland.
However, South Korean military officials quickly claimed that both Seoul and Washington believed the missile was actually a Hwasong-15 — an intercontinental ballistic missile test-fired in 2017 that is also able to hit the US.
Most recently, North Korea test-fired a tactical guided missile on April 16, near the east coast. South Korea’s military said it detected two rockets – likely short-range – that traveled about 70 miles and climbed as high as 15 miles while hitting a speed of less than Mach 4, or four times the speed of sound.
At the time, KCNA said the weapon system “is of great significance in drastically improving the firepower of the frontline long-range artillery units and enhancing the efficiency in the operation of tactical nukes.”
The state media agency also noted that Kim has given “important instructions on further building up the defense capabilities and nuclear combat forces of the country.”
Concerns about North Korea’s growing nuclear capability come as Kim’s powerful sister, Kim Yo Jong warned in early April that the nation will use nuclear weapons in retaliation to any South Korean attack.
“If South Korea, for any reason — whether or not it is blinded by misjudgment — opts for such military action as ‘preemptive strike’ touted by [South Korea Defense Minister Suh Wook], the situation will change,” Kim Yo Jong said. “In that case, South Korea itself will become a target.”
Just days before, Suh revealed Friday that South Korea’s military has “the ability to accurately and quickly hit any target in North Korea.”
In her warning, Kim Yo Jung said North Korea’s response would leave the South’s military “little short of total destruction and ruin.”
Sun Kim, the US’s special envoy for North Korea, traveled to Seoul last week to meet with senior South Korean officials. During his visit, the envoy said he is willing to engage with the North “anywhere without conditions.”
President Biden is also open to meeting with Kim Jon Un, the White House has said, however efforts to do so have failed.
“Because as we saw in the past administration, leader-level summits alone are no guarantee of progress,” a White House official said in March. “The DPRK continues to not respond.”
