Kim threatens to use nuke weapons against South, US; says ‘will not hesitate’

Analysts say N Korea will likely leverage enlarged nuclear arsenal for US concessions like sanctions relief after a new US administration is inaugurated

Seoul: North Korean leader Kim Jong Un warned again that he could use nuclear weapons in potential conflicts with South Korea and the United States, as he accused them of provoking North Korea and raising animosities on the Korean Peninsula, state media reported on Tuesday.

Kim issued similar threats to use nuclear weapons preemptively numerous times, but his latest warning came as outside experts say North Korea could ramp up hostilities ahead of next month’s US presidential election.

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In a Monday speech at a university named after him, “Kim Jong Un University of National Defence”, he said that North Korea “will without hesitation use all its attack capabilities against its enemies” if they attempt to use armed forces’ against North Korea, according to the North’s official Korean Central News Agency.

“The use of nuclear weapons is not ruled out in this case,” he said. Kim said North Korea’s nuclear response posture must be fully enhanced because South Korea and the United States are pushing to beef up their military alliance based on joint nuclear and strategic planning, a move that he said would increase the danger of breaking the balance of power on the Korean Peninsula.

Kim apparently refers to the new South Korea-US deterrence guideline that the two countries signed in July to integrate South Korean conventional capabilities with US nuclear weapons to better deal with North Korea’s evolving nuclear threats. South Korea has no nuclear weapons.

Since adopting an aggressive nuclear doctrine in 2022, North Korea has repeatedly vowed to use nuclear weapons first if it perceives the leadership in Pyongyang as under threat. But many experts question if North Korea could really do so because its military is outgunned by the US and South Korean forces.

Many analysts say North Korea will likely leverage his enlarged nuclear arsenal for US concessions like sanctions relief after a new US administration is inaugurated. North Korea earlier said its rubber-stamp parliament was to meet on October 7. But as of Tuesday, state media hasn’t said whether the parliament meeting began as scheduled.