Kim Jong Un slams US-South Korea drills, vows rapid nuclear buildup during warship inspection
SEOUL: North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has condemned ongoing South Korea-US military exercises and pledged to accelerate the expansion of his nuclear arsenal, state media reported Tuesday. His remarks came during an inspection of the country’s most advanced warship, which is being outfitted with nuclear-capable systems.
Kim visited the western port of Nampo on Monday, coinciding with the start of the annual 11-day Ulchi Freedom Shield drills. The large-scale exercise, involving 21,000 troops—18,000 from South Korea—features computer-simulated command operations and field training. While the allies call the drills defensive, Pyongyang has long dismissed them as invasion rehearsals.
Inspecting the 5,000-tonne-class destroyer Choe Hyon, unveiled in April, Kim said the exercises reflected the allies’ “hostility” and their intent to “ignite a war,” KCNA reported. He argued the drills now carry a “nuclear element,” demanding “proactive and overwhelming” countermeasures from the North.
“The security environment around the DPRK is getting more serious day by day,” KCNA quoted Kim as saying. “This requires a radical and swift change in our military doctrine and a rapid expansion of nuclearization.”
The Choe Hyon, designed for antiair, anti-naval, and nuclear-capable missile systems, is set to enter service next year. Pyongyang is also building two other destroyers: the Kang Kon, damaged during a failed launch in May but relaunched in June, and a third vessel expected by October. Kim expressed satisfaction with the Choe Hyon’s weapons tests and ordered further performance trials in October.
South Korea’s Defence Ministry declined to comment on the warship’s capabilities, while officials in Seoul stressed that Ulchi Freedom Shield focuses on countering Pyongyang’s nuclear and missile threats, as well as preparing for drone, cyber, and electronic warfare—drawing lessons from the wars in Ukraine and the Middle East.
The Korean Peninsula remains technically at war, divided by the Demilitarized Zone since 1953. Tensions have escalated as Kim accelerates his weapons programme and strengthens ties with Moscow following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
South Korea’s new President Lee Jae Myung has offered to restore the 2018 inter-Korean military pact, suspended last year amid balloon launches and escalating tensions, urging Pyongyang to resume dialogue. However, Kim has so far rebuffed calls for talks, maintaining his focus on expanding nuclear strike capabilities.
