Kim Jong Un, a senior government and ruling party official, said it was a “very big mistake” for the South Korean defense minister to make recent remarks discussing the attacks in the north, the state-run KCNA news agency reported. South Korean Defense Minister Suh Wook said Friday that his country’s military has a range of missiles with significantly improved range, accuracy and power, with “the ability to hit any target in North Korea accurately and quickly.” Sign up now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com Register North Korea has launched a series of increasingly powerful missiles this year, and officials in Seoul and Washington fear it may be preparing to resume nuclear testing for the first time since 2017 amid stalled negotiations. Kim and another North Korean official issued earlier statements condemning the remarks on Sunday, warning that Pyongyang would destroy key targets in Seoul if the South took any “dangerous military action” such as a pre-emptive strike. read more In a second statement Tuesday, Kim said Pyongyang was opposed to the war, which would leave the peninsula in ruins, and did not see South Korea as its main enemy. “In other words, it means that if the South Korean military does not take any military action against our state, it will not be considered the target of our attack,” he said. “But if South Korea, for whatever reason – whether it is blinded or not by misjudgment – chooses such military action as the ‘pre-emptive strike’ advertised by (Suh Wook), the situation will change,” Kim added. “In that case, South Korea itself would be the target.” If the South Korean military violates even an inch (2.5 cm) of North Korean territory, it will face an “unimaginably terrible catastrophe” and North Korea’s nuclear combat force will inevitably have to do its job, he said. “This is not just a threat. This is a detailed explanation of our reaction to possible reckless military action by South Korea,” Kim said. preemptive strike in a nuclear-armed state. Sign up now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com Register Report by Josh Smith Editing by Chris Reese and Sandra Maler Our role models: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.
