North Korea will use nuclear weapons to “eliminate” the South Korean army if it launches a preemptive attack, the sister of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un assured Tuesday.
Kim Yo Jong’s warning, carried by state-run media, is his second furious reaction in three days to South Korean Defense Minister Suh Wook’s remarks last week.
Suh Wook had said on Friday 1er April that his country had missiles “capable of striking precisely and quickly any target in North Korea”, while Pyongyang has multiplied ballistic missile tests in recent months and threatens to resume its nuclear tests.
In response, Kim Yo Jong said on Tuesday that it was a “very big mistake” for this “crazy” Suh Wook to discuss a preemptive strike against a nuclear power, according to the agency. North Korean press KCNA.
“If South Korea opts for a military confrontation with us, our nuclear combat force will inevitably have to fulfill its mission,” warned Kim Jong Un’s sister.
This key political adviser in Pyongyang recalled that the “primary mission” of the nuclear forces of her country was to serve as a means of deterrence, but that if an armed conflict were to break out, these weapons would be used to “eliminate the armed forces of the enemy during a strike.
Tensions rise between the two Koreas
In the event of a “terrible attack”, the South Korean forces would meet a “miserable fate which is nothing but total destruction and ruin”, she continued before adding, “we do not (the) do not consider as an adversary for our armed forces”.
Kim Yo Jung had already lambasted Suh Wook’s “reckless remarks” on Sunday, warning that the South must “discipline itself if it wants to avoid disaster”.
South Korean President-elect Yoon Suk-yeol’s transition team assured on Tuesday that the option of a preemptive strike was not ruled out, if necessary. A position already held by Yoon Suk-yeol during the campaign.
“Preemptive strikes are one of the actions that are accepted around the world, including at the UN, as a viable option (…) when a threat persists,” the government spokesman told reporters on Tuesday. South Korean Kim Eun-hye.
Kim Jong Un suspended nuclear testing
North Korea had suspended nuclear and long-range missile testing when Kim Jong Un and then-US President Donald Trump began high-profile talks, which broke down in 2019. Negotiations have since stalled. dead point.
During the five years of Moon Jae-in’s presidency, Seoul pursued a policy of dialogue with Pyongyang, while reducing the number of military exercises with the United States, which the North perceives as provocations.
But for President-elect Yoon Suk-yeol, who takes office next May, this “slavish” approach has been a clear failure, and he has vowed to take a hard line on Pyongyang.
North Korea celebrates this month the 110th anniversary of the birth of its founder, Kim Il Sung, grandfather of the current leader. Usually, Pyongyang likes to mark important anniversaries with military parades, big weapons tests or satellite launches.