Kim Jong-un declares S. Korea its ’main enemy’ during visit to munitions factories

김정은, 한국을 “주적“으로 규정 북한, 향후 행보는? Good evening. Thank you for joining us. I’m Yoon Jung-min. We start with North Korea continuing its threats. Its leader Kim Jong-un has labeled South Korea as the “main enemy“, adding he has no intention of avoiding war. The South Korean government was quick to downplay the remarks, saying they are an “outdated tactic.“ Our defense correspondent Choi Min-jung takes a closer look at what’s to come next. North Korean leader Kim Jong-un has declared South Korea as the regime’s “main enemy,“ and said he has no intention of avoiding war. This was said during his visit to munitions factories earlier this week, where he inspected what appear to be missile vehicles for short-range ballistic missiles. “Declaring that the Republic of Korea is our main enemy, he said what we should focus on when it comes to the relations with the hostile state, is to strengthen self-defense capabilities and nuclear war deterrence.“ North Korea has called the South its “main enemy“ a couple of times in the past, but this is the first time for Kim to directly declare South Korea as its principal enemy. Kim also threatened to quote, “completely destroy South Korea,“ if it attempted to harm the regime’s “sovereignty and security.“ Seoul’s Unification Ministry downplayed Kim’s remarks as nothing more than an outdated tactic, saying that Kim had once again revealed his ambition to unify the two Koreas by force. It added that North Korea’s emphasis on war preparations is evidence that it is fearful of Seoul and Washington’s strengthening extended deterrence. The Foreign Ministry also denounced Kim’s words, saying that South Korea has never initiated force against North Korea. However, concerns are growing as North Korea’s provocations against the South do not seem to be stopping. “Looking at Kim’s remarks, military tensions on the Korean Peninsula are expected to increase significantly in 2024. We should expect a show of force when South Korea and the U.S. conduct joint military exercises in March and August. We should also expect to see North Korea pressure the U.S. at the highest level possible ahead of the U.S. presidential election in November, causing tensions on the Peninsula to escalate.“ North Korea has recently been ramping up its hostility toward the South, with artillery fire near the maritime border, following Kim’s year-end statement defining the two Koreas as quote, “hostile nations at war“ with “no chance“ of unification. Choi Min-jung, Arirang News. #SouthKorea #NorthKorea #KimJongun #Main_enemy #대한민국 #북한 #김정은 #Arirang_News #아리랑뉴스 📣 Facebook : 📣 Twitter : 📣 Homepage : 2024-01-10, 18:00 (KST)