Flanked by missiles, North Korea's Kim says US, South Korea threaten peace

Seoul

STANDING beside North Korea's largest missiles, leader Kim Jong Un said his country's weapons development is necessary in the face of hostile policies from the US and a military buildup in South Korea, 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 on Monday (Oct 11), reported state news agency KCNA.

Kim made the remarks standing next to a variety of weapons, including the country's intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBMs), the ruling party newspaper Rodong Sinmun showed. Among them was the Hwasong-16, North Korea's largest ICBM, unveiled at a military parade 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, adding that North Korea's main enemy is "war itself".

State television footage showed a smiling Kim clapping as shirtless soldiers use their hands to smash bricks placed on colleagues' chests, as others cut chains wrapped around their bodies in a show of strength.

Kim also saluted jets leaving coloured trails during an air show, while strolling through missiles on display.

A spokesperson for South Korea's defence ministry told a briefing that South Korean and the US intelligence agencies were analysing the equipment displayed at the exhibition.

The two Koreas have been in an accelerating arms race , 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 US 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. Washington's assertions that it holds no hostile feelings toward North Korea were hard to believe in the face of its continued "wrong judgments and actions", Kim said.

South Korea's national security adviser, Suh Hoon, was expected to meet his American counterpart, Jake Sullivan, in Washington on Tuesday (Oct 12) to discuss North Korea. Suh told reporters on Monday that he planned to discuss South Korean President Moon Jae-in's proposal for a formal declaration ending the 1950-1953 Korean War - which ended in an armistice - and possible easing of sanctions on North Korea, Yonhap news agency reported.

Last week, the two Koreas restored their hotlines that the North severed months ago, with Pyongyang urging Seoul to step up efforts to improve relations.

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 in his speech on Monday. REUTERS