North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has threatened to "thoroughly annihilate" the United States and South Korea if provoked, amid heightened tensions due to expanded US-South Korean military drills. Kim's aggressive stance includes plans to develop military technology such as spy satellites, nuclear materials, and attack drones. South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol responded by emphasizing the strengthening of South Korea's military capabilities. The exchange of threats comes as experts anticipate possible small-scale military clashes and further missile tests by North Korea, which has already conducted over 100 missile tests since 2022.
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has escalated his aggressive rhetoric, instructing his military to "thoroughly annihilate" the US and South Korea if provoked. This statement follows plans to enhance North Korea's defense capabilities, including launching military spy satellites, increasing nuclear material production, and developing attack drones. South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol responded by emphasizing the strengthening of South Korea's preemptive and retaliatory capabilities. Tensions are rising as both Koreas prepare for potential military clashes, and North Korea continues to expand its missile tests and nuclear arsenal, despite international sanctions and diplomatic efforts.
North Korea has unveiled new, smaller nuclear warheads and vowed to produce more weapons-grade nuclear material to expand the country's arsenal, as a US aircraft carrier arrived in South Korea for military drills. Experts say the images could indicate progress in miniaturising warheads that are powerful yet small enough to mount on intercontinental ballistic missiles capable of striking the US. North Korea has been ramping up tensions, firing short-range ballistic missiles on Monday and conducting a nuclear counterattack simulation last week against the US and South Korea, which it accused of rehearsing an invasion with their military exercises.
North Korea launched a short-range ballistic missile toward the sea on Sunday, testing activities that appear to be in response to ongoing U.S.-South Korean military drills. The missile, which was launched from the North’s northwestern Tongchangri area, flew across the country and landed in the sea off its east coast, according to South Korean and Japanese assessments, which reported that the missile traveled a distance of about 500 miles. The chief nuclear envoys from South Korea, Japan and the U.S. strongly condemned the missile launch as a provocation threatening peace on the Korean Peninsula and in the region.
