North Korea's communist dictator Kim Jong Un declared on Tuesday that he had “no intention of avoiding war” with South Korea during a tour of a military factory.
The Korean Central News Agency (KCNA), which represents North Korea's government propaganda agency, referred to South Korea as the “Republic of Korea,'' a change in wording that seemed to acknowledge that South Korea is a separate country from North Korea. For years, KCNA has referred to the country as “South Korea,” territory under the control of rogue forces that North Korea considered its legitimate territory under Pyongyang.
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Korean Central News Agency summary Kim's remarks said the dictator had declared that “the time has finally come” to recognize South Korea's sovereignty in anticipation of a resumption of active hostilities.
KCNA said, “The historical moment has finally come to define the Republic of Korea (ROK), which has pursued a history of vicious conflict, as the most hostile state to the Democratic People's Republic of Korea.'' I told you. In order to overthrow our regime with bloodshot eyes…he emphasized that our country must recognize this inevitable and irreversible reality as it is. ”
Kim reportedly added that North Korea must “properly resolve historical issues.”
North and South Korea, as well as their allies China and the United States, are technically at war since 1950. The active phase of the Korean War ended with an armistice that did not result in a peace treaty or surrender. To this day, U.S. troops remain stationed in South Korea to help protect the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ), the border between North and South Korea.
“Korean scum is our main enemy,” Kim reportedly said. SaidThe US-based Radio Free Asia (RFA) said it translated KCNA's Korean coverage. “We do not intend to unilaterally decide on a major change on the Korean Peninsula by using overwhelming force, but we also do not intend to avoid war.”
People watch a television screen showing a news broadcast containing file footage of artillery fire by North Korea at a train station in Seoul, January 5, 2024. On January 5, North Korea fired more than 200 artillery shells near two South Korean islands, the Seoul Ministry of Defense announced. Residents of one of the homes were ordered to evacuate. (JUNG YEON-JE/AFP via Getty Images)
Kim vowed to “completely destroy South Korea” if South Korea considered “using force against our country.”
South Korea's Ministry of Unification, which is usually in charge of relations with North Korea, harshly criticized Kim's belligerence in a statement on Wednesday, calling it an “outdated tactic” against North Korea. destabilize According to Korea KBS News, Korean society.
KBS said, “We call on North Korea to immediately stop its reckless military threats and psychological warfare against Seoul, and South Korea will resolutely respond to any provocation and consistently pursue the normalization of inter-Korean relations based on principles. ” he added.
In addition to the obvious meaning of the remarks, Kim's presence in what KCNA calls a “major munitions factory” appeared intended to provoke South Korea and the free world. The government of South Korean President Yun Seok-Yeol has increasingly accused North Korea of selling various weapons to the world's most violent and nefarious groups. South Korea's National Intelligence Service (NIS) on Monday revealed evidence that the jihadist terrorist organization Hamas used North Korean-derived weapons that may have been included during the October 7 atrocities against Israel. NIS evidence appears on Fuse, which consisted of a photo of a Hamas rocket grenade with writing in Korean. Israeli authorities also displayed seized Hamas weapons believed to be from North Korea.
This photo provided by the North Korean government on July 13, 2023 shows a test launch of the Hwasong-18 intercontinental ballistic missile at an undisclosed location in North Korea on July 12, 2023. It shows. (Korean Central News Agency/Korea News Agency (via AP)
“North Korea has a history of exporting anti-tank weapons and multiple rocket launchers to armed groups such as Hamas and Lebanon-based Hezbollah,” said an anonymous South Korean lawmaker who attended a private NIS meeting in November. told the paper. South Korea JoongAng Ilbo at that time.
Earlier this year, a group of families of Americans killed and injured in the Oct. 7 terrorist attack announced plans to sue North Korea for its role in the atrocity.
South Korean President Yun Seok-Yeol has publicly mentioned the possibility of a Hamas-style ground invasion of South Korea targeting random civilians, threatening to bring down the Kim regime if such an attack is attempted.
“Even if North Korea miscalculates and engages in provocative acts, including a Hamas-style surprise attack, we will maintain a joint South Korea-U.S. defense posture that will allow us to immediately and decisively punish North Korea,'' Yun said. Said US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin met in Seoul in November.
South Korean President Yoon Seok-yeol speaks at the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) in New York on September 20, 2023. (Jeenah Moon/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
In December, Yun called on troops stationed in the demilitarized zone to scrap bureaucratic procedures for emergencies, saying, “If there is any provocation, we ask them to retaliate immediately and report back later.”
President Joe Biden's administration on Tuesday accused North Korea of selling weapons to Russia that were used on the battlefield in the ongoing invasion of Ukraine. The White House, the Strategic Communications Coordinator for the National Security Council, told reporters. believed it Russia has used North Korean weapons twice in the past before launching “multiple North Korean ballistic missiles” into Ukraine in the latest attack.
Kim personally offered senior Russian officials, including Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu, a tour of a North Korean weapons exhibition in Pyongyang in July, but since the start of the Wuhan coronavirus pandemic It was the first time such a high-ranking foreign official had visited the country. North Korean state media claimed that Shoigu was given a tour of intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) models and armed drones.
