North Korea’s supreme leader Kim Jong Un said this week that he is not concerned about avoiding armed conflict with South Korea, state media reports.
The dictator made the comments while touring a munitions factory to learn about production, where he referred to the country’s southern neighbor as “our main enemy,” according to state media outlet Korea Central News Agency.
Kim said his regime would “in no way unilaterally bring about a major event by overwhelming force on the Korean Peninsula, but we have no intention of avoiding war as well,” according to the state newspaper.
He continued: “If the ROK dares to try to use armed forces against the DPRK or threaten its sovereignty and security and such an opportunity presents itself, we will not hesitate to annihilate the ROK by mobilizing all means and forces in our hands.”
International cooperation between the North and South has broken down in recent weeks after the Kim regime’s army fired a series of artillery bombardments into buffer zones between the countries, ostensibly for combat exercises.
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un said the nation would go to war if South Korea asked it to. Via REUTERS
A 2018 agreement between Seoul and Pyongyang established the buffer zones as prohibited areas for artillery fire or military exercises. Via REUTERS
South Korean intelligence estimates that approximately 200 projectiles were fired at the area on Friday and an additional 60 on Saturday.
The South Korean Defense Ministry reportedly fired approximately 400 rounds in response to the provocation.
A 2018 agreement between Seoul and Pyongyang established the buffer zones as prohibited areas for artillery fire or military exercises.
South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff announced Monday that it will resume exercises in the area in response to North Korean artillery bombardment, saying that restrictions in the area “no longer exist.”
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Source: vtt.edu.vn