SEOUL, South Korea (AP) 鈥 North Korean leader Kim Jong Un reminded his troops to treat South Korea as a hostile foreign enemy and insisted that the North wouldn鈥檛 hesitate to attack its rival if the South infringes upon its sovereignty, state media said Friday.
Kim鈥檚 comments at an army headquarters came after North Korea this week confirmed that it to define South Korea as 鈥渁 hostile state鈥 and blew up that were once connected to the South.
The steps punctuated Kim鈥檚 calls for North Korea to and reflect his intent to escalate tensions and increase leverage amid a deepening stalemate in diplomacy. Analysts see increasing risks of possible clashes along the rivals鈥 tense border areas, although it would be highly unlikely for the North to contemplate full-scale attacks in the face of superior U.S. and South Korean forces.
During a visit to the headquarters of the North Korean People鈥檚 Army鈥檚 2nd Corps on Thursday, Kim stressed to troops the importance of understanding that any use of offensive force against the South would constitute a 鈥渓egitimate retaliatory action against the hostile country, not the fellow countrymen.鈥
He said the North鈥檚 detonation of the border road and rail sections on Tuesday demonstrated the North鈥檚 resolve to cut off persistent 鈥渆vil鈥 relations with the South, which 鈥渓asted century after century and the complete removal of the useless awareness about fellow countrymen and unreasonable idea of reunification.鈥
He said the event was also a declaration that his troops wouldn鈥檛 hesitate to use physical force against the South, an 鈥渁pparent hostile country,鈥 if it violates North Korea鈥檚 sovereignty, the North鈥檚 official Korean Central News Agency said.
South Korea had no immediate comment on Kim鈥檚 remarks.
North Korea has been making increasingly provocative threats against rival South Korea in recent weeks, including to drop anti-North Korean propaganda leaflets over Pyongyang this month and threatening to attack if it happens again. South Korea has refused to confirm whether it sent drones but warned that North Korea will face an overwhelming response that would 鈥渆nd its regime鈥 if the safety of South Korean citizens is threatened.
Tensions on the Korean Peninsula have spiked since 2022, as Kim used as a window to dial up his weapons testing activities and threats. Washington, Seoul and Tokyo have strengthened their combined military exercises in response and took steps to sharpen their nuclear deterrence strategies built around strategic U.S. assets.
told the Associated Press earlier this month that North Korea will likely attempt to ramp up pressure with major provocations around the U.S. presidential elections in November, possibly including a long-range missile test or a nuclear test detonation, to grab Washington's attention.
