PYONGYANG/SEOUL: According to state media KCNA on Sunday, North Korea promised to “totally destroy” its adversaries if leader Kim Jong Un gives the command.
During a conference on Saturday to commemorate the 71st anniversary of the Korean War armistice, which Kim attended, senior military leaders, including Army Colonel Ri Un Ryong and Navy Lieutenant Commander Yu Kyong Song, expressed strong animosity against the US and South Korea.
There are no diplomatic relations between North Korea and the US, and since 2019, talks to defuse tensions and bring North Korea closer to denuclearization have been on hold.
Regardless of who becomes president of the United States, North Korean state media recently declared that this is not expected to alter.
Proclaiming that the United States and South Korea were “hell-bent on provoking a nuclear war,” the military leaders promised to improve their war capabilities in order to launch a “overwhelming attack on the enemy anytime and without delay” in response to a directive from Kim.
After three years of fighting, hostilities in the Korean War came to an end on July 27, 1953, when North Korea, the United States, and China signed an armistice. On behalf of the United Nations forces assisting South Korea, US generals signed the pact.
Although there are important events on July 27, South Korea does not honor it as “Victory Day,” like North Korea does. Since no peace treaty was signed, the Korean Peninsula remained technically at war throughout the armistice.
