PYONGYANG: North Korean leader Kim Jong-un has officially designated South Korea as a hostile nation and warned of the potential use of physical force in response to any violations of its sovereignty, state media reported.
According to Yonhap News Agency, during an inspection of the headquarters of the 2nd Corps of the Korean People’s Army on Thursday, Kim Jong-un made clear his stance regarding South Korea. His remarks come just two days after North Korean authorities destroyed roads and railways connecting the two Koreas, which had been symbols of inter-Korean cooperation.
“He stressed that our army should keep in mind once again the stark fact that the ROK is a foreign country and an apparent hostile country,” the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) reported. ROK stands for the Republic of Korea, South Korea’s official name.
The North Korean leader further emphasized that any breach of the DPRK’s sovereignty by South Korea would be met with immediate physical retaliation. “And he added that it also means
the last declaration that when the DPRK’s sovereignty is violated by the ROK, a hostile country, its physical forces will be used unhesitatingly, without sticking to conditions any longer,” KCNA added. DPRK refers to the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, the official name of North Korea.
Kim Jong-un also remarked on the severance of inter-Korean connections, interpreting these actions as not only a physical disconnection but also a symbolic end to the “evil relationship” with Seoul and the notion of reunification under current terms.
The North Korean leader was accompanied by key military figures, including Pak Jong-chon, vice chairman of the Central Military Commission, and No Kwang-chol, minister of National Defence of the DPRK, indicating the gravity of the military’s role in the current policy shift towards South Korea.