NNew escalation in North Korea’s nuclear arsenal file: Pyongyang has passed a law declaring it is ready to carry out pre-emptive atomic strikes, including in the face of conventional attacks, state media said on Friday.
The move eliminates the possibility of denuclearization talks, with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un saying his country’s nuclear state status is now “irreversible”.
This announcement comes in a context of tense inter-Korean relations. Pyongyang has conducted a record number of missile tests this year and has blamed Seoul for the recent Covid-19 outbreak in its territory.
The new law will allow the North Korean regime to launch a preemptive nuclear strike “automatically” and “immediately, to destroy hostile forces”, if a foreign power were to threaten Pyongyang, according to the state agency KCNA.
In Washington, a spokesman for the State Department did not react directly to this posture, simply recalling that the United States remained “committed (…) in favor of a complete denuclearization of the Korean peninsula”.
“We have made it clear that we have no hostile intentions” towards North Korea and “are ready to meet without preconditions”, which Pyongyang “continues to refuse”, he said.
France also condemned Friday “with the greatest firmness” the adoption of this law, noting “with deep concern the increasingly aggressive statements of North Korea”.
“This new escalation on the part of the North Korean authorities represents a threat to international and regional peace and security,” said a spokeswoman for the Foreign Ministry.
The North Korean text states that the regime can use nuclear weapons “in the event of a nuclear or non-nuclear attack by hostile forces against the leaders of the State and the command organization of the State’s nuclear forces”, among other situations, according to KCNA.
In July, Mr Kim said his country was “ready to deploy” its nuclear deterrent force in the event of a military confrontation with the United States and South Korea.
“It is totally out of the question (for us) to renounce nuclear weapons, and there can be no denuclearization or negotiation,” he said in a speech to the North Korean parliament on Thursday, according to KCNA.
This new text testifies to Kim Jong Un’s confidence in his country’s nuclear and military capabilities, in particular in its intercontinental ballistic missiles that can strike the United States, Cheong Seong-chang of the northern studies center told AFP. -Koreans at the Sejong Institute.
This law “publicly justifies the use of nuclear weapons by Pyongyang”, in particular in response to a non-nuclear attack, observed Mr. Cheong.
As dictator, “Kim Jong Un does not need laws to launch a nuclear strike”, but the new doctrine serves to “justify his use of nuclear weapons in an emergency, by disclosing in advance the principles of nuclear use at home and abroad,” he added.
“Height of Absurdity”
North Korea has carried out a record series of weapons tests this year, including firing an intercontinental ballistic missile for the first time since 2017.
US and South Korean officials have repeatedly warned that the North is preparing to conduct another nuclear test.
The unresolved question of sanctions relief and what Pyongyang would be willing to give in return has stalled negotiations between Washington and Pyongyang since 2019.
For Yang Moo-jin, professor at the University of North Korean Studies, the new text clearly reaffirms the position of Pyongyang, which believes that negotiations on denuclearization are no longer on the agenda.
“Pyongyang is likely to forge closer ties with China and Russia against Washington, and … conduct a seventh nuclear test in the near future,” he told AFP.
Last month, Seoul offered a major aid package to North Korea, including food, energy, but also aid for the modernization of infrastructure, in exchange for denuclearization.
North Korea, however, rejected the offer, calling it “the height of absurdity”.
South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol said last month that his government had no plans to provide the country with a nuclear deterrent.
At the end of August, the United States and South Korea conducted their largest joint military exercises since 2018 in the face of the growing nuclear threat from North Korea.
Washington is a close security ally of Seoul. Some 28,500 American soldiers are stationed in South Korea to protect it from its neighbor.
09/09/2022 22:40:05 – Seoul (AFP) – © 2022 AFP