North Korean leader Kim Jong Un warned he’s ready to use his nuclear weapons in potential military conflicts with the United States and South Korea, state media said Thursday, as he unleashed fiery rhetoric against rivals he says are pushing the Korean Peninsula to the brink of war. Kim’s speech to war veterans on the 69th anniversary of the end of the 1950-53 Korean War were apparently meant to boost internal unity in the impoverished country suffering pandemic-related economic difficulties, the AP reports. North Korea will likely intensify its threats against the United States and South Korea as the allies prepare to expand summertime exercises the North views as an invasion rehearsal, some observers say.
“Our armed forces are completely prepared to respond to any crisis, and our country’s nuclear war deterrent is also ready to mobilize its absolute power dutifully, exactly and swiftly in accordance with its mission,” Kim said in Wednesday's speech, according to the official Korean Central News Agency. He accused the United States of “demonizing” North Korea to justify its hostile policies. He said US-South Korea military drills show the US's “double standards” and “gangster-like” aspects because it brands North Korea’s routine military activities—an apparent reference to its missile tests—as provocations or threats.
Kim also called new South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol “a confrontation maniac” who's gone further than past South Korean leaders and said Yoon's conservative government was led by “gangsters.” Since taking office in May, the Yoon government has moved to strengthen Seoul's military alliance with the United States and bolster its capacity to neutralize North Korean nuclear threats including a preemptive strike capability. “Talking about military action against our nation, which possess absolute weapons that they fear the most, is preposterous and is very dangerous suicidal action,” Kim said. “Such a dangerous attempt will be immediately punished by our powerful strength and the Yoon Suk Yeol government and his military will be annihilated.”
(More
Kim Jong Un stories.)
,
uBlock 
,
and
Ghostery 
)
