Kim Jong Un of North Korea issues a warning, suggesting he will annihilate South Korea utilizing nuclear weapons if provoked.
The heated rhetoric isn't novel, but emerges at a time of strain on the Korean Peninsula and following North Korean state media sharing photos of Kim exploring a uranium enrichment facility, producing nuclear material for weapons.
During a visit to a western army base on Wednesday, Kim expressed that if the South intruded upon the North's territory, Pyongyang would employ without hesitation all its offensive forces, including nuclear weapons. The state-run Korean Central News Agency relayed this information on Friday.
"If such a situation arises, the enduring existence of Seoul and South Korea would be untenable," Kim further added, using the correct title for South Korea.
There's been an undercurrent of conflict between the two Korean leaders this year, as North Korea seems to have escalated its nuclear production and strengthened alliances with Russia, causing significant unease and concern in the West about North Korea's development path.
Kim's remarks appeared to be targeted at South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol, who on Tuesday displayed Seoul's most potent ballistic missile and other weapons meant to thwart North Korean aggression during an Armed Forces Day parade.
Since the conclusion of the Korean War in 1953, North and South Korea have remained isolated, with the conflict concluding not with a peace treaty but an armistice, leaving the two sides in a technically ongoing state of war.
At the beginning of the year, Kim proclaimed that the North would no longer aim for peacefully reunifying, labeling the South as their "primary adversary" and dismantling a monument representing unity.
North Korea could revoke a critical agreement that could potentially pave the way for Korean reunification as early as Monday, when its legislature convenes, the South's Unification Ministry informed CNN.
In late March, North Korean state media showcased photos of Kim touring a nuclear facility, offering a rare glimpse into North Korea's secretive weapons program. Experts suggested that these photos - depicting Kim flanked by men in military uniforms and pristine white lab coats - highlight North Korea's escalating confidence in its status as a nuclear power.
Meanwhile, South Korea has been bolstering its arsenal to counter potential threats from the North.
On Tuesday, Yoon unveiled the Hyunmoo-5 ballistic missile, reportedly capable of penetrating North Korean underground bunkers.
"If North Korea uses nuclear weapons, it will encounter the decisive and formidable retaliation of our military and the SK-US alliance," Yoon declared, referencing the United States as South Korea's key military ally. "The North Korean regime must now shed the delusion that nuclear weapons will shield them."
The US dispatched a B-1B bomber over an Armed Forces Day ceremony on Tuesday in Seongnam, close to Seoul, in a seeming show of solidarity.
On Wednesday, Kim denigrated Yoon as a "puppet" and claimed he was a "chaotic man" for boasting about his military might alongside a nation possessing nuclear weapons. This was relayed by KCNA.
Given the current tensions on the Korean Peninsula and North Korea's escalation of nuclear production, there's a growing concern about North Korea's development path in the world, particularly in Asia. The North Korean leader, Kim, has been strengthening alliances with countries like Russia, which is causing unease amongst Western nations.
