North Korean leader Kim Jong Un reviewed powerful missiles developed to launch nuclear strikes on the U.S. mainland, as he vowed to build an “invincible” military to cope with what he called persistent U.S. hostility.
Kim’s statement was made at a rare defense exhibition while flanked by a variety of large missiles. Kim Jong-un added that weapons development was for self-defense, and not to start a war.
He stressed on Monday during his speech that his military might isn’t targeted at South Korea. There would be no war pitting Korean people against each other.
“The U.S. has frequently signaled it’s not hostile to our state, but there is no action-based evidence to make us believe that they are not hostile,” Kim said on Monday. “The U.S. is continuing to create tensions in the region with its wrong judgments and actions.”
Calling the United States a “source” of instability on the Korean Peninsula, Kim said his country’s most important objective is possessing an “invincible military capability” that no one can dare challenge.
North Korea has recently tested what it claims to be new hypersonic and anti-aircraft missiles. The South meanwhile has recently tested its own submarine-launched weapon.
“We are not discussing war with anyone, but rather to prevent war itself and literally increase war deterrence for the protection of national sovereignty,” he said.
Kim, surrounded by an array of military hardware including tanks, accused the US of stoking tensions between North and South Korea.
He said there was “no behavioral basis” to make North Korea believe that the US was not hostile.
The US under President Joe Biden has repeatedly said it is willing to talk to North Korea, but has demanded Pyongyang give up nuclear weapons before sanctions can be eased. North Korea has so far refused.
The exhibition featured an array of newly developed weapons, including intercontinental ballistic missiles North Korea has already test-launched or displayed during military parades in recent years, experts say.
Yang Wook, a military expert who teaches at South Korea’s Hannam University, said the weapons in the photos include what appears to be a new ICBM that North Korea disclosed during a military parade last year but hasn’t test-fired, Yang said. That missile mounted on an 11-axel launch vehicle during the parade is considered to be the North’s biggest-yet ICBM.
Other weapons on display were another ICBM that North Korea tested in 2017; ballistic missiles that can be fired from submarines or a train; solid-fueled, short-range missiles; and a developmental hypersonic missile that had its first test-flight last month, said Lee Choon Geun, a missile expert at South Korea’s Science and Technology Policy Institute.
“Basically, North Korea wants to send this message: ‘We’ll continue to develop new weapons and arm ourselves with nuclear force, so don’t slap sanctions with these as we can’t agree on the double standards,’” Yang said.
Kim has made it quite clear that he isn’t done building up his arsenal, which he says he needs as a deterrent. He vowed to continue work on his wish list of weapons, while noting that South Korea was doing the same by building up its defense force in recent years.
With limited funds and under strict economic sanctions, can he really build an “invincible” force and help his people?
