Kim Jong-un’s powerful sister has warned North Korea will keep on pursuing its “overwhelming” military buildup citing US military drills with South Korea as a major issue.
Kim Yo Jong issued a huge warning to the United States after accusing Washington and its allies of plunging “[inter-Korean relations] deeper into a dangerous vortex.”
The top government advisor said tensions had become “like a kindled detonating fuse” because of the military exercises the US has been regularly conducting with partners such as South Korea and Japan.
In a speech on Wednesday, Kim Yo Jong said: “Entering this year, the US has staged more than 80 rounds of military drills with its lackeys and those individually staged by the ROK puppets total more than 60.
“This evidently shows who the arch criminals straining the regional situation are.”
Analysts have said the rogue country’s blur the boundary between artillery systems and ballistic missiles because they can create their own thrust and are guided during delivery.
Pyongyang described some of these systems, including the 600mm multiple rocket launchers that were tested Monday, as capable of delivering tactical nuclear warheads.
Kim Jong-un expressed satisfaction, saying that the multiple rocket launchers were as accurate as a “sniper’s rifle.”
He said the drill was crucial for “preparing our nuclear force to be able to rapidly and correctly carry out their important mission of deterring a war and taking the initiative in a war in any time and any sudden situation.”
The comments reflected North Korea’s escalatory nuclear doctrine, which authorises the military to launch preemptive nuclear strikes against enemies if it perceives the leadership as under threat.
South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff said the weapons from Monday’s launches flew about 300 kilometres before crashing in the waters between the Korean Peninsula and Japan.
