North Korea’s Kim Jong-un warns he would not hesitate to ‘annihilate’ Seoul

Relations between the two Koreas are at one of their lowest points in decades, after Kim enshrined the country’s status as a nuclear power into the constitution and test-fired several advanced intercontinental ballistic missiles.

Kim said that while the North – formally known as the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK) – would not “unilaterally” trigger a confrontation, it had “no intention of avoiding a war as well”, according to KCNA.

“If the ROK dares attempt to use armed forces against the DPRK or threaten its sovereignty and security and such opportunity comes, we will have no hesitation in annihilating the ROK by mobilising all means and forces in our hands,” KCNA reported, using an acronym for the southern Republic of Korea.

South Korea on alert for clashes, nuclear test as Kim threatens ‘major ripple’

Kim, accompanied by senior party and military officials, conducted his tour of multiple munitions factories on Monday and Tuesday, KCNA said, describing the visits as encouragement for weapons workers “in the struggle for attaining the huge production goal for the new year”.

In a joint statement on Tuesday, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken was joined by EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell and 47 foreign ministers in condemning the alleged transfer in “the strongest possible terms.”

“The transfer of these weapons increases the suffering of the Ukrainian people, supports Russia’s war of aggression, and undermines the global non-proliferation regime,” said the statement released by the US State Department.

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Kim Jong-un vows to accelerate war preparations, while the South holds rare defence drills

Kim Jong-un vows to accelerate war preparations, while the South holds rare defence drills

They said the alleged missile shipment “flagrantly” violated sanctions on North Korea by the United Nations Security Council, of which Russia is a permanent member.

“We are closely monitoring what Russia provides to the DPRK in return for these weapons exports,” said the statement.

They called on the two countries to abide by Security Council resolutions and “immediately cease all activities that violate them.”