North Korean ballistic missiles will never target South Korea, Pyongyang has no desire to deal with Seoul. This was stated by the sister of the head of the DPRK Kim Jong-un and the deputy head of the department of the Central Committee (CC) of the Workers’ Party of Korea Kim Yo-jong on Sunday, February 19.
“For the stupid, I bring to your attention: our ballistic missiles will never target Seoul. We still have no desire to deal with the scum of South Korea,” said Kim Yo-jong, whose words are reported by Central News Agency of the DPRK (CTAC).
According to her, the United States should stop deceiving the whole world “by chattering that it is not hostile to the DPRK and is ready for dialogue,” as well as refrain from acts of threat to the security of North Korea and attempts to distort its image.
Kim Yo-jong advised the American leadership to be prudent for their own safety. Seoul, the deputy head of the Central Committee of the Workers’ Party, suggested “not to poke your nose where it is not necessary” and think about the consequences.
At the same time, she accused the United States and South Korea of aggravating the situation in the region and promised “suppressive measures” in response to any hostile step against the DPRK.
“We will always monitor the actions of the enemy and take very powerful suppressive measures corresponding to every hostile act against us,” she concluded.
The day before, the North Korean military launched the Hwaseong-15 intercontinental ballistic missile. The rocket flew 989 km and rose to a height of 5768 km.
Two days earlier, on February 17, the DPRK Foreign Ministry promised to respond to the expansion of US and South Korean military exercises.
On February 16, the United Nations announced a closed meeting of the Security Council on the issue of North Korea. At the same time, Konstantin Asmolov, a leading researcher at the Center for Korean Studies at the Institute of China and Modern Asia of the Russian Academy of Sciences, said in a conversation with Izvestia that at the moment North and South Korea have begun to “quite actively” follow the path of militarization. In his opinion, both sides believe that they have the right to take protective measures against each other, which, however, leads only to a vicious circle.
Prior to that, on January 31, Pentagon chief Lloyd Austin allowed the US to use nuclear weapons to protect South Korea. He pointed to a record number of provocative actions by the DPRK in 2022. The head of the Pentagon separately noted that one of the largest foreign contingents of the US Armed Forces, numbering 28.5 thousand, is located in South Korea, which in turn should demonstrate Washington’s commitment to maintaining peace on the Korean Peninsula.
At the same time, the heads of the defense departments of the United States and South Korea issued a joint statement in which they agreed to expand the scope of joint exercises in 2023.
On January 1, North Korean leader Kim Jong-un ordered the development of a new ballistic missile and mass production of tactical nuclear weapons to protect the sovereignty and security of North Korea.
On December 31, Pyongyang launched three missiles towards the Sea of Japan, they flew about 350 km, after which they fell into the sea.
