- Kim Jong-un says North Korea is ready to use its nuclear weapons in a conflict with the US.
- North Korea has tested more missiles this year than ever before.
Kim Jong-un, the leader of North Korea, has said that the country is ready to use its nuclear weapons to stop a war.
At an event to remember the Korean War, Mr. Kim said that his country was “fully ready for any military confrontation” with the US. This was reported by the state news agency KCNA.
People are worried that North Korea might be getting ready for its seventh nuclear test.
Last month, the US warned that Pyongyang could do this kind of test at any time.
The last nuclear test North Korea did was in 2017. But on the Korean peninsula, things have been getting worse.
The US special representative to North Korea, Sung Kim, says that North Korea has tested 31 missiles this year, which is more than it ever has before. In 2019, North Korea tested 25 missiles, which was also a record.
In June, South Korea fired off eight missiles of its own in response.
Even though the Korean War from 1950 to 1953 ended in a truce, North Korea says that it was a victory over the US. Every year, people gather to celebrate “Victory Day” with military parades, fireworks, and dancing.
In a speech he gave to mark the event, Mr. Kim said that the US’s nuclear threats meant that North Korea had to do the “urgent historical task” of strengthening its defences.
He also said that the US had wrongly said that North Korea’s regular military drills were provocations.
Mr. Kim also seemed to respond to rumours that South Korea is trying to bring back a plan to stop the nuclear threat from North Korea by preparing for preemptive strikes in case an attack is coming soon.
The so-called “Kill Chain” strategy was first thought up ten years ago. It calls for preemptive strikes against Pyongyang’s missiles and possibly its top leaders.
Some experts have said it could lead to an arms race and has its own risks.
At the Victory Day celebration, Mr. Kim said that if he did pre-emptive strikes, the government and military of South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol would be “obliterated”
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