North Korea would use its nuclear weapons to “eradicate” South Korea’s army if it launches a pre-emptive assault, Kim Jong Un’s powerful sister declared Tuesday.
Kim Yo Jong’s threat, which was published by official media, was her second venomous reaction in three days to comments made by South Korean Defense Minister Suh Wook last week.
They come at a time when North Korea has restarted its sanctions-breaking nuclear tests in record numbers this year, shooting its first intercontinental ballistic missile at full range since 2017.
Suh stated on Friday that South Korea’s military has missiles capable of “accurately and promptly hitting any target in North Korea when there are obvious signals of North Korean missile launch.”
According to KCNA, Kim Yo Jong responded by saying it was a “very great error” for “lunatic” Suh to have advocated a pre-emptive attack against a nuclear state.
“If South Korea chooses to engage us in armed conflict, our nuclear battle force will have to undoubtedly carry out its duty,” warned Kim Yo Jong, a prominent strategic advisor in Pyongyang.
She stated that the “main goal” of her country’s nuclear forces is to operate as a deterrence, but that if an armed confrontation breaks out, such weapons will be used.
South Korean military will suffer a “miserable fate little short of absolute devastation and ruin” as a result of this “dreadful strike,” she added.
“We do not consider (them) to be a match for our armed forces,” she added of South Korea’s military.
President-elect
Her new words follow a Sunday attack on Suh’s “reckless remarks,” in which she cautioned the South to “control itself if it wants to avoid calamity.”
However, President-elect Yoon Suk-transition yeol’s team stated on Tuesday that a preemptive attack as a possible military option if necessary was not ruled out, a position previously backed by Yoon himself during the campaign.
“Preemptive attacks are one of the activities that are recognised worldwide, including at the UN, as a credible option… when a preemptive threat continues,” said Kim Eun-hye, a spokesman for the South Korean government.
North Korea suspended its long-range and nuclear tests when Kim Jong Un and then-US President Donald Trump engaged in high-profile dialogue, which ended in 2019. The negotiations have now stopped.
For the last five years, Seoul has adopted an engagement policy with Pyongyang, brokering high-level talks between Kim and Trump while lowering joint US military drills that the North regards as provocative.
However, for president-elect Yoon Suk-yeol, who takes office in May, this “subservient” policy has been a colossal failure, and he has pledged to take a tough stance against Pyongyang.
This month marks the 110th anniversary of the birth of North Korean founder Kim Il Sung, the grandfather of current leader Kim.
