Status: 16.01.2024, 11:51 a.m.
By: Bona Hyun
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North Korea sees no chance of reconciliation with the South. Now the tone from South Korea is also getting rougher. According to experts, Kim is going into war planning.
Pyongyang – The conflict between North and South Korea is coming to a dangerous head: After the latest threatening gestures, North Korean leader Kim Jong-un called for an expansion of nuclear deterrence. Now he wants to curb any chance of reunification and is taking the first steps to do so. Apparently, he sees no way to reconciliation with the South.
"Enemy number one" – Kim rules out chance of reunification with South Korea
Thus, Kim declared South Korea "enemy number one" and decided to dissolve several inter-Korean organizations responsible for dialogue with South Korea. In his speech to parliament in Pyongyang, Kim stressed that the "cleansing up of inter-Korean organizations is an indispensable process." This was reported by the state news agency KCNA and the South Korean news agency KBS.
North Korea's Supreme People's Assembly later issued a statement on the matter. North and South Korea are now stuck in an "acute confrontation," it said. For Pyongyang, it is a grave mistake to regard Seoul as a diplomatic partner. By amending the constitution, all North Koreans must be taught the idea "that South Korea is their first opponent and main enemy," Kim was quoted as saying.
Kim sees no chance of reconciliation with South Korea. The conflict is coming to a head. © Uncredited/dpa
At the parliamentary session, Kim also again accused South Korea of trying to bring about the overthrow of his government. "We don't want war, but we don't intend to avoid it either," Kim said.
Fears of North Korean attack, South Korea threatens – experts see signs of war preparations
The fact that Kim wants to enshrine the term "main enemy" in the constitution is causing resentment in the south. Shortly after Kim called South Korea the "main enemy," South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol toughened his tone. "Our military has an overwhelming ability to respond. If North Korea provokes us, we will punish it many times more severely," he was quoted as saying by the South Korean Times.
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In view of the current developments, the situation between North and South Korea is likely to be more tense than ever before. Experts are sure that Kim wants to prepare for war in the long term. "We don't know when or how Kim intends to pull the trigger, but the danger already goes far beyond the routine warnings in Washington, Seoul and Tokyo about Pyongyang's 'provocations,'" former U.S. State Department official Robert Carlin and nuclear scientist Siegfried Hecke wrote in an analysis.
North Korea's ruler Kim threatens South Korea – and moves more weapons to the border
Most recently, Kim had ordered increased war preparations and announced that more weapons and more armed forces would be stationed on the border with the south. "We will withdraw the measures taken to prevent military tensions and clashes in all areas, such as land, sea and air, and deploy forces and state-of-the-art military equipment in the border areas," North Korea's Defense Ministry said, according to South Korea's Yonhap news agency. Recent shelling from North Korea and nuclear tests are also causing concern in the region.
Concerned about the developments, the USA, South Korea and Japan want to expand their alliance. Specifically, the three countries agreed to cooperate in communication, economic and military matters. Biden stated that annual military exercises are also planned. In addition, the respective intelligence services are to cooperate more closely, and there are also to be annual meetings of the heads of state. (Bohy with dpa)