conflicts
Kim Jong Un’s sister threatens to use nuclear weapons
Kim Yo Jong, the sister of North Korea’s leader Kim Jong Un. Photo: Jorge Silva/Pool Reuters via AP/dpa
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The nuclear talks with the US have not progressed for years. Now a high-ranking North Korean official is striking out against the South.
North Korea has threatened South Korea with a nuclear strike in the event of a military conflict.
South Korea is not the “main enemy” of their country, according to a statement by the influential sister of North Korean ruler Kim Jong Un, Kim Yo Jong. However, should South Korea seek military confrontation, “our nuclear force will inevitably do its duty,” state media quoted her as saying on Tuesday.
The high-ranking official of the ruling Workers’ Party continued the aggressive tone she had adopted a few days earlier. The background to this are statements by South Korean Defense Minister Suh Wook on his country’s attack capabilities against North Korea. Kim had threatened that South Korea was therefore risking a serious threat.
«Fantastic Daydream»
Suh publicly said on Friday that South Korea’s armed forces have the ability to “precisely and quickly” attack the origin of North Korean missile launches and its command posts as soon as there are clear signs of an attack against South Korea. In her most recent statement, Kim called the comments an “unrecoverable major mistake.” Threatening preemptive strikes against a “nuclear weapon state” is a “fantastic daydream”.
Kim’s statements came amid rising tensions in the region. North Korea had recently alarmed its neighboring countries with a new test of an ICBM. UN resolutions ban the isolated country from testing any type of missile capable of carrying a nuclear warhead. North Korea has declared itself a nuclear power. However, its status is unclear because of the negotiations on its nuclear weapons program. However, nuclear talks with the United States have not progressed for more than three years.