SEOUL: North Korea has responded to increased US-South Korean military cooperation with fresh nuclear threats and personal insults directed at US President Joe Biden.
The first-strike capability of Pyongyang’s nuclear force should be expanded, remarks by Kim Yo Jong, the powerful sister of North Korean strongman Kim Jong Un, suggested.
“We are convinced once again of the fact that the enhancement of the nuclear war deterrent, especially the second mission of the nuclear war deterrent, should be brought to further perfection,” Kim was quoted as saying by state media on Saturday. Kim Jong Un’s sister is a senior official of the Central Committee of the Workers’ Party of Korea.
North Korea is subject to rigorous international sanctions because of its nuclear weapons programme - a situation that fuels Pyongyang’s frequent invective against foreign governments and leaders.
Kim also lashed out at the so-called Washington Declaration of support announced on April 26 during a state visit to the US by South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol.
The declaration reflected the “most hostile and aggressive will of action” and would only result in endangering peace and security in the region and the world, Kim said, according to state media.
In the declaration, the US assured South Korea that it would be more involved in the planning of its “extended deterrence,” meaning the full range of military capabilities to defend South Korea - including nuclear. — dpa
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