North Korean dictator Kim Jong Un ramped up his nuclear threats amid escalating international tensions—vowing to strengthen his arsenal “without limitation.”
The supreme leader made the comments during a speech to military officials in which he also hit out at the U.S., according to state media reports on Monday. Kim told the Conference of Battalion Commanders and Political Instructors of the Korean People’s Army that such war preparations were necessary because his country’s enemies had embarked on “frantic” military confrontations against them.
The latest rhetoric comes amid increasingly fraught international relations, stretching well beyond Asia. Tensions have been ratcheting up for months with democratic neighbor South Korea, and relations worsening further as the pair have taken different sides in Russia’s war against Ukraine.
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Last month, North Korea—which has a nuclear arsenal—saw Kim amend the constitution to define South Korea as a “hostile state.” The neighbors have accused each other of flying drones or balloons into their respective airspace to distribute political leaflets or dump trash across the border.
Ukraine has proved to be another flashpoint; North Korea has aligned itself with Russia and Kim has even dispatched his troops to support Moscow on the battlefield. In contrast, South Korean is reportedly considering sending its own soldiers to fight with Ukrainians, meaning the Koreas could find themselves in direct conflict on foreign soil.
It is in this febrile atmosphere that Kim has outlined his plans for nuclear expansion. The graph below shows estimates of how many nuclear warheads the country currently has compared to other nations around the world. The secretive state is thought to hold around 50 in reserve, a number dwarfed by the thousands held by Russia and the U.S.
Kim revealed his new ambitions for his nuclear arsenal on Friday, which saw the culmination of the two-day military conference held in the country’s capital, Pyongyang. His words, shared by state media, were subsequently reported by the country’s anxious neighbor South Korea.
“We will strengthen our self-defense power, centered on nuclear forces, without limitation, not being content [with our current level] and ceaselessly,” Kim said, according to South Korea’s Yonhap News Agency.
He added that his regime’s enemies were “frantic” and had stepped up their confrontational behavior. He warned that an alliance between the U.S., South Korea, and Japan was a “critical” factor threatening to destabilize the Korean Peninsula. His comments came the same day as the three allies held a trilateral summit on the sidelines of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit currently being held in Peru.
“[The] U.S.-led military alliance has been expanding into more larger areas encompassing Europe and the Asia-Pacific region,” Kim told his military commanders. He suggested that the U.S. and the West were using Ukraine in order to fight a war against Russia because the U.S. wanted to exert more control overseas.
Newsweek has reached out by email to the White House and South Korea’s government seeking comment on Kim’s vow to expand his nuclear capabilities.
