AP – North Korean leader Kim Jong Un warned again that he could use nuclear weapons in potential conflicts with South Korea and the United States (US), as he accused them of provoking North Korea and raising animosities on the Korean Peninsula, state media reported yesterday.
Kim has issued similar threats to use nuclear weapons preemptively numerous times, but his latest warning came as outside experts said North Korea could ramp up hostilities ahead of next month’s US presidential election.
In a Monday speech at the Kim Jong Un University of National Defence, he said that North Korea “will without hesitation use all its attack capabilities against its enemies” if they attempt to use armed forces against North Korea, according to the Korean Central News Agency.
“The use of nuclear weapons is not ruled out in this case,” he said.
Kim said North Korea’s nuclear response posture must be fully enhanced because South Korea and the US are pushing to beef up their military alliance based on joint nuclear and strategic planning. Kim apparently refers to the new South Korea-US deterrence guideline that the two countries signed in July to integrate South Korean conventional capabilities with US nuclear weapons to better deal with North Korea’s evolving nuclear threats. South Korea has no nuclear weapons.
