Kim Jong Un: "US-South Korea Training is Hostile to North Korea... Nuclear Armament Needed"

[Financial News] Kim Jong Un, Chairman of North Korea's State Affairs Commission, criticized the US-South Korea joint training as a hostile act against North Korea. He also reiterated the need for North Korea's nuclear armament.
Chairman Kim criticized the US-South Korea joint military exercise Ulchi Freedom Shield (UFS) that began on the 18th, saying, "The joint military exercise of the United States and South Korea is the most hostile and confrontational expression of their intentions against the Democratic People's Republic of Korea." He further emphasized that "the deepening military collusion and military demonstrations of the US and South Korea are the clearest expression of their war-provoking intentions," and that "it requires a radical and rapid change and expansion of nuclear armament."
Chairman Kim made these remarks while inspecting the integrated operation test process of the armament system of North Korea's first 5,000-ton class new destroyer 'Choe Hyon Ho' during his visit to Nampo Shipyard in South Pyongan Province, as reported by the Korean Central News Agency on the 19th.
The US and South Korea are conducting a scaled-down joint exercise 'Ulchi Freedom Shield (UFS)' from the 18th to the 28th. The reduction in military training and some schedule adjustments were achieved at the proposal of Unification Minister Chung Dong-young, who is seeking dialogue with North Korea. Of the originally planned 40 field training exercises (FTX), about half, or 20, are postponed to be conducted after September.
Chairman Kim stated regarding the UFS training, "There has never been a time when the long-standing US-South Korea military exercises did not contain provocative and dangerous elements, but recently, with the inclusion of nuclear elements, the seriousness has further increased," adding that "the changing situation demands us to respond with proactive and overwhelming changes."
He ordered that the navy should play a pivotal role in strengthening national defense capabilities in this situation. Chairman Kim stated, "It is of utmost importance to rapidly enhance the operational capabilities of our navy," and "our navy will become a reliable force that firmly takes part in the composition and use of national nuclear forces in the near future."
Chairman Kim expressed satisfaction with the phased and planned progress of the navy's modernization and nuclear armament tasks during his report on 'Choe Hyon Ho' on that day, as reported by the Korean Central News Agency. Additionally, he instructed that the projects scheduled for August and September be completed and that the evaluation process of the destroyer's performance and operational capabilities be moved to October, according to the report. Earlier, North Korea unveiled the 5,000-ton class new destroyer 'Choe Hyon Ho' on April 26th.
Less than a month later, on May 21st, they unveiled a second destroyer of the same class, but it ran aground during the launch ceremony, causing embarrassment. On June 12th, they repaired the grounded ship, named it 'Gang Geon Ho', and held a new launch ceremony. On July 22nd, they announced plans to construct an additional Choe Hyon-class new destroyer by October 10th next year.

rainman@fnnews.com Kim Kyung-soo Reporter

rainman@fnnews.com Kim Kyung-soo Reporter