North Korean leader Kim Jong Un stressed his order of a quick expansion of his forces’ nuclear capabilities, citing the annual U.S.-South Korea military exercises, according to the country’s state media.
Kim said the “security environment” around North Korea is “getting more serious day by day” and “requires us to make a radical and swift change in the existing military theory and practice and rapid expansion of nuclearization,” the official Rodong Sinmun newspaper reported, paraphrasing his remarks.
He accused the U.S. and South Korea of intensifying their exercises and demonstrating “their will to ignite a war”.
The military exercises “have always been provocative and dangerous in their nature but the gravity is increasing from the characteristics that they are recently plotting military nexus with the nuclear element involved,” Kim said, per Rodong Sinmun.
The Korean Peninsula remains in a technical state of war, divided by the Demilitarized Zone into North Korea and South Korea.
Kim was inspecting the warship Choe Hyon, a 5,000-ton-class destroyer first unveiled in April, during a visit to the western port of Nampo on Monday, August 18.
It came as the South Korean and U.S. militaries kicked off their annual large-scale summertime exercise to bolster readiness against growing North Korean threats.
The 11-day Ulchi Freedom Shield, which the allies describe as defensive, will mobilize 21,000 troops, including 18,000 South Koreans, for computer-simulated command post operations and field training.
This is a developing article. Updates to follow.
This article includes reporting by The Associated Press.
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