Click to see full-size image. (The Korean Central News Agency)
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has called South Korea “a foreign country and an apparent hostile country,” the Korean Central News Agency reported on October 18.
The official news agency said that the leader made the remarks during an inspection trip to the headquarters of the 2nd Corps of the Korean People’s Army (KPA) a day earlier.
Kim made the trip to encourage the officers and troops of the large combined unit that “have reliably defended the territory of our state, always maintaining full combat readiness on high alert at the forefront near the border,” according to the agency.
The leader learned of the combat readiness of the military units ready for combat operations under the corps after being briefed on the current situation.
The KCNA also said that Kim reminded the armed forces of “the stark fact that the ROK is a foreign country and an apparent hostile country,” referring to South Korea by using the acronym of its official name, the Republic of Korea.
Recalling that the DPRK has completely blocked the roads and railways to South Korea two days ago through detonations, Kim said that the move means “not only the physical closure but also the end of the evil relationship with Seoul” and “the complete removal of the useless awareness about fellow countrymen and unreasonable idea of reunification,” according to the agency.
“When the DPRK sovereignty is violated by the ROK, a hostile country, its physical forces will be used unhesitatingly, without sticking to (any) conditions any longer,” Kim was quoted by the KCNA as saying.
The leader urged the KPA “to continue concentrating all efforts on bolstering up the war-fighting capabilities, and to take more perfect military steps for reliably defending the security of the country through the permanent overwhelming combat readiness,” the agency said.
Tensions in the Korean Peninsula began to rise on October 11, when North Korea accused Seoul of sending drones over Pyongyang that scattered a “huge number” of anti-North leaflets.
South Korea’s government has declined to say whether such drones were flown and if they were, whether they were flown by its military or civilians. Still, Seoul warned that if North Korea were to inflict harm upon the safety of its people, “that day will be the end of the North Korean regime.”
Later on October 16, the KCNA reported that more than a million young people have signed up to join or rejoin the KPA as a result of the tensions with South Korea.
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