North Korea would use nuclear weapons “without hesitation” if its territory was attacked by the United States and its ally South Korea, leader Kim Jong Un said, days after South Korea warned that North Korea’s regime would be finished if it tried to use its nuclear weapons.
Separately, the North Korean leader’s powerful sister, Kim Yo Jong, denounced South Korea’s recent showcasing of new missiles, saying it only showed the “barrier of power inferiority” of non-nuclear states.
“If the enemy … attempt to use armed forces encroaching upon the sovereignty of the DPRK, full of excessive ‘confidence’ in the ROK-U.S. alliance in disregard of our repeated warnings, the DPRK would use without hesitation all the offensive forces it has possessed, including nuclear weapons,” said Kim Jong Un, as cited by the Korean Central news Agency, or KCNA, on Friday.
The Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, or DPRK, is North Korea’s official name, while the Republic of Korea, or ROK, is South Korea’s official name.
Kim Jong Un was speaking on Wednesday while inspecting a special forces military training base in the west of the North Korean capital, Pyongyang, according to KCNA.
Kim said South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol was a “puppet,” who “bragged about overwhelming counteraction of military muscle at the doorstep of the state possessed of nuclear weapons and it was a great irony that caused the suspicion of being an abnormal man.”
“The DPRK has irreversibly secured the absolute strength as a nuclear power and the system and function for using it while overcoming the long-standing challenges,” Kim added.
Separately, Kim’s sister, Kim Yo Jong, mocked South Korea's Hyunmoo-5 missile, showcased on Tuesday at military parade in Seoul, as “worthless.”
The South unveiled the Hyunmoo-5 as Yoon issued his warning to the North about the end of its regime if it attempted to use nuclear weapons.
“If a man has a certain degree of common sense, he could not talk about the ‘end of regime’ of someone with a weapon of worthless large bulk,” Kim Yo Jong said in the statement, carried by KCNA on Thursday.
Calling the South Korea’s showcasing of the missile, a “foolish act before the nuclear weapons state,” Kim Yo Jong said the South proved once again that they can “never cross the wall of inferiority in strength, the fate of a non-nuclear weapon state.”
“If it had not been opened to the public, the ‘mysterious ghost weapon’ would have been more effective in propaganda,” she added.
The Hyunmoo-5 is a centerpiece of the Korea Massive Punishment and Retaliation plan, designed to respond to damage caused by a North Korean nuclear weapon by targeting its leadership and military headquarters in a retaliatory strike.
Dubbed the “monster missile,” reflecting a destructive capacity that South Korean media says is comparable to that of a nuclear weapon, the Hyunmoo-5 can carry a warhead weighing up to 9 tons and is capable of striking deeply buried command centers.
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During a Tuesday ceremony to mark the 76th founding anniversary of the South Korea’s armed forces, Yoon said if North Korea attempted to use nuclear weapons, it would face the resolute and overwhelming response of the South’s military and the South Korea-U.S. alliance.
“That day will be the end of the North Korean regime,” Yoon said.
The South Korean military would reportedly aim to use dozens of Hyunmoo-5s to destroy the North Korean military command’s underground bunkers and devastate Pyongyang in the event of an emergency.
“Our military will immediately retaliate against North Korea’s provocations based on its robust combat capabilities and solid readiness posture,” Yoon said.
Edited by Mike Firn.