According to state media, North Korea’s leader has pledged to construct an “invincible military” in the face of hostile US policies.
Kim Jong-un went on to say that developing weapons was for self-defense, not to launch a conflict.
Mr. Kim made the remarks while flanked by a variety of huge missiles at a rare defense exhibition.
North Korea claims to have successfully tested new hypersonic and anti-aircraft missiles.
Meanwhile, the South has conducted a test of its own submarine-launched weapon.
Mr. Kim addressed the military build-up in the South in his speech at the Pyongyang Self-Defense 2021 show, which featured an array of military weaponry including tanks, and emphasized that North Korea did not wish to battle its neighbor.
We are not discussing war with anyone, but rather to prevent war itself and to literally increase war deterrence for the protection of national sovereignty,” he said.
Mr. Kim again accused the United of flaming tensions between North and South Korea.
He went on to say that there was “no behavioral basis” for convincing North Korea that the US was not hostile.
President Joe Biden has stated repeatedly that the US is eager to talk to North Korea, but that Pyongyang must first give up its nuclear weapons before sanctions can be removed. So far, North Korea has refused.
The UN has prohibited North Korea from testing ballistic missiles and nuclear weapons. It has regularly disobeyed these prohibitions and as a result, has been heavily sanctioned.
The UN atomic agency warned last month that North Korea appeared to have restarted a reactor that could create plutonium for nuclear bombs, calling the development “very worrying.”
North Korea has insisted on continuing to build nukes for defense purposes.
However, experts claim that it is also being used to mobilize the impoverished country. North Korea is said to be in serious financial straits as a result of the closure of borders to prevent the spread of Covid-19.
Food and fuel are among the essential commodities that have been cut off.
China, North Korea’s primary political and economic backer, has cut off vital supplies such as food and fuel.
