SEOUL, Jan 01 (AFP): North Korean leader Kim Jong Un told his top military officers to use maximum force against South Korea and the United States if they initiate a military confrontation, state media reported Monday.
Seoul and Washington have ramped up defence cooperation in the face of a record-breaking series of weapons tests by Pyongyang over the past year.
At a meeting with North Korea's major commanding officers in Pyongyang on New Year's Eve, Kim said his military should "annihilate" the enemy if provoked, the official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) reported.
"If the enemy opt for military confrontation and provocation against the DPRK, our army should deal a deadly blow to thoroughly annihilate them by mobilizing all the toughest means and potentialities without moment's hesitation," Kim said.
Kim's comments echo his threats made during year-end party meetings of a nuclear attack on Seoul and orders for a military arsenal build-up to prepare for a war that he said could "break out any time" on the peninsula.
During the meetings to set the policy agenda for 2024, the North Korean leader accused the United States of posing "various forms of military threat".
He also called on armed forces to "suppress the whole territory of south Korea mobilizing all physical means... including nuclear forces" in case of a "great event", referring to an armed conflict.
Annihilate South Korea, US if they initiate conflict, Kim tells his top military officers
FE Team | Published: January 01, 2024 22:14:56
Annihilate South Korea, US if they initiate conflict, Kim tells his top military officers
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