North Korean leader Kim Jong Un speaks during an event celebrating the 76th anniversary of the founding of the ruling Workers’ Party of Korea (WPK) in Pyongyang, North Korea, in this undated photo released on October 11, 2021 by North Korea’s Korean Central News Agency (KCNA). KCNA/via REUTERS.
October 12, 2021
By Josh Smith and Sangmi Cha
SEOUL (Reuters) -North Korean leader Kim Jong Un said his country’s weapons development is necessary in the face of hostile policies https://www.reuters.com/world/asia-pacific/north-korea-has-right-test-weapons-given-hostile-policies-un-envoy-2021-09-27 from the United States and a military buildup in South Korea https://www.reuters.com/world/asia-pacific/skorea-blazes-new-path-with-most-potent-conventional-missile-submarine-2021-09-08 that is destabilising the peninsula, state media said on Tuesday.
Pyongyang was only increasing its military in self-defence and not to start a war, Kim said in a speech at the Defence Development Exhibition, according to a report by state news agency KCNA.
Kim made the remarks standing in front of a variety of weapons, including a Hwasong-16 intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM), photos in the ruling party newspaper Rodong Sinmun showed. The Hwasong-16 is North Korea’s largest ICBM and was unveiled at a military parade https://www.reuters.com/article/uk-northkorea-missiles-idUKKBN26V01I in October 2020, but not yet test fired.
“We are not discussing war with anyone, but rather to prevent war itself and to literally increase war deterrence for the protection of national sovereignty,” he said.
The two Koreas have been in an accelerating arms race https://www.reuters.com/business/aerospace-defense/nkorea-fired-unidentified-projectile-yonhap-citing-skorea-military-2021-09-15, with both sides testing increasingly advanced short-range ballistic missiles and other hardware.
South Korea recently test fired its first submarine-launched ballistic missile, plans to build major new weapons include aircraft carriers, and has bought American-made F-35 stealth fighters.
North Korea has pushed ahead with its missile programme, and analysts say it has begun a major expansion of its main nuclear reactor, used to produce fuel for nuclear bombs.
The United States has said it is willing to hold diplomatic talks at any time with North Korea, Pyongyang has said it is not interested as long as Washington maintains policies such as sanctions and military activities in South Korea.
The United States’ assertions that it holds no hostile feelings toward North Korea are hard to believe in the face of its continued “wrong judgments and actions,” Kim said, without elaborating.
South Korea’s “unrestricted and dangerous” efforts to strengthen its military is “destroying the military balance in the Korean peninsula and increasing military instability and danger,” Kim said.
“Under the absurd pretext of suppressing our threats, South Korea has openly expressed its desire to gain an edge over us in military power on various occasions,” he added.
(Reporting by Sangmi Cha and Josh Smith; Editing by Stephen Coates)
Source: One America News Network
