N. Korea warns of nuclear attack in case of military confrontation

Kim Yo Jong, the younger sister of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and vice director of the Central Committee of the Workers’ Party of Korea, on Tuesday mentioned North Korea’s nuclear combat force, saying if military confrontation occurs between the two Koreas, the North will launch a terrifying attack, and the South Korean military will have to endure its dismal fate that is close to annihilation and complete destruction.

This is the first time that the North has directly hinted at the possibility of using nuclear weapons against the South. On the same day, South Korea and the U.S. agreed to push for a new U.N Security Council resolution against North Korea, including tightening restrictions on North Korea’s oil imports, in response to recent provocations by the North.

President-elect Yoon Suk-yeol said he will deal with North Korea’s provocations and security threats without any error. With North Korea showing signs of an imminent provocation, tensions are rising on the Korean Peninsula amid escalating feud between South Korea and the U.S., and North Korea.

“If South Korea chooses a military confrontation with us, our nuclear combat force will inevitably have to carry out its duties,” Kim Yo Jong said in a press statement. Following her claim that North Korea is a nuclear state in earlier statement issued on Monday, Kim raised the rhetoric by mentioning the possibility of a nuclear attack. Kim, however, said she made it clear that South Korea is not North Korea’s main enemy. It is interpreted as North Korea’s typical brinkmanship tactic, which aims to raise the level of threat while leaving room for negotiations.


Jin-Woo Shin niceshin@donga.com