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4h ago

North Korea Orders Rapid Nuclear Buildup as Kim Yo Jong Rejects Seoul's Overtures

Seoul says its latest overtures aim at stability for both Koreas.

Kim Yo Jong, sister of North Korea's leader Kim Jong Un, arrives at the Vostochny Сosmodrome before a meeting of Russia's President Vladimir Putin with North Korea's leader Kim Jong Un, in the far eastern Amur region, Russia, September 13, 2023. Sputnik/Vladimir Smirnov/Pool/File Photo
SEOUL, SOUTH KOREA - 2024/10/23: A 24-hour Yonhapnews TV broadcast at Yongsan Railway Station in Seoul showing North Korean leader Kim Jong Un visiting a strategic missile base at an undisclosed location in North Korea. North Korean leader Kim Jong Un urged enhancing the country's war deterrence, including nuclear readiness, citing growing U.S. nuclear threats, state media reported on October 23. During an inspection of a strategic missile base, Kim reviewed its capabilities and operational readiness. The location and date of the inspection were not disclosed. (Photo by Kim Jae-Hwan/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images)

Overview

  • Kim Jong Un directed a rapid expansion and upgrade of North Korea’s nuclear forces, citing the ongoing Ulchi Freedom Shield drills by the United States and South Korea.
  • State media said the newly launched 5,000-ton destroyer Choe Hyon will be equipped for nuclear-capable systems and is slated to be operational in 2026.
  • Kim Yo Jong declared South Korea will never be a diplomatic partner, castigated President Lee Jae Myung as ineffective, and labeled the allied exercises a rehearsal for invasion.
  • South Korea’s presidential office and unification ministry reiterated that Lee’s recent steps, including moves tied to the suspended 2018 inter-Korean pact, are intended to foster peace and shared prosperity.
  • Reporting notes this year’s allied exercises do not simulate nuclear responses, even as Pyongyang portrays them as nuclear-related, and outside experts estimate the North’s arsenal at around 50 warheads.