North Korean Supreme Leader Kim Jong-un said that his country will not hesitate to launch a nuclear attack if an enemy provokes it with nuclear weapons, according to state media.
North Korea’s Threat
The Supreme Leader’s statement comes after North Korea announced this week that it had tested its newest ICBM on Monday to assess the war readiness of its nuclear forces against growing US hostility.
The Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) said on Thursday that Kim made the remark during his meeting with soldiers working for the military’s missile bureau, where he congratulated them on the country’s recent successful launching drill of an intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM).
Kim said the test demonstrated “a clear explanation of the offensive counteraction mode and the evolution of the nuclear strategy and doctrine of [North Korea] not to hesitate even a nuclear attack [sic] when the enemy provokes it with nukes,” KCNA reported.
The leader also said that Monday’s launch had demonstrated the military’s high mobility and rapid attack capability. He called for efforts to further strengthen its combat efficiency.
International Response
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, Japanese Foreign Minister Yoko Kamikawa, and South Korean Foreign Minister Park Jin said in the joint statement that the three countries “stand together in opposition to [North Korea’s] continued development of its unlawful weapons of mass destruction and ballistic missile programs.”
North Korea has tested a ballistic missile that has the potential to strike the US mainland. Its leader Kim Jong Un has vowed to accelerate the nuclear build-up, according to state media. pic.twitter.com/sWYUukVH6c
— DW News (@dwnews) December 20, 2023
“The unannounced launches also threatened the safety of civil aviation and maritime traffic in the region,” they added. The foreign ministers further urged the secretive regime to “stop conducting further provocations and accept our call for engaging in substantive dialogue without preconditions.”
Meanwhile, Russia’s deputy UN ambassador, Anna Evstigneeva, slammed attempts to condemn Pyongyang, calling them “a one-sided approach.”
She warned that the situation on the Korean Peninsula is escalating “to a dangerous brink,” because both the North and the South have been justifying their hostile moves as self-defence. Further, she accused the US of deploying its massive military machinery in the region, saying this looks “more and more like preparations for an offensive operation,” even though the US has previously said it has no hostile intentions.
She concluded by calling for a peaceful settlement of the issues on the Korean Peninsula through political and diplomatic means “without external pressure.”
North Korea Retorts
In response to the condemnation by the international community, North Korea has justified its missile launches. In a separate statement, the Supreme Leader’s powerful sister, Kim Yo Jong, condemned the UN Security Council (UNSC) for holding a meeting over the ICBM launch, saying that Pyongyang was only exercising its right to self-defence.
“The UNSC should place heavy responsibility on the irresponsible behaviour and act of the US and [South Korea], which have aggravated the tension on the Korean peninsula through all sorts of military provocations all year round,” she said.