North Korea has officially designated its relationship with South Korea as hostile and in a state of war, which could lead to serious provocations in the near future.
Kim Yo-jong, the director of the Central Committee of the Workers' Party of Korea for foreign policy, responding to South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol's emphasis on strengthening deterrents against the North, stated that this gives North Korea the right to accelerate its nuclear weapons development.
Analysts assess that North Korea might employ various methods to escalate threats, including high-intensity provocations.
Yang Wook, a researcher at the Asan Policy Institute, has noted that North Korea conducted 31 tests of various strategic weapons so far this year, slightly less than the 33 tests in 2022. However, it continues to publicly demonstrate new strategic weapons.
Especially considering that North Korea introduced a five-year plan for defense development at the 8th Congress of the Workers' Party of Korea in 2021, focusing on enhancing nuclear weapons and developing new types of strategic weaponry, this policy is expected to continue this year.
In her first statement of the year, Kim Yo-jong referred to South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol's New Year's address, emphasizing that South Korea "will continue to make a 'special contribution' to the significant increase in our state's military power."
Experts anticipate that North Korea may intensify nuclear pressure and demonstrate new strategic weaponry, such as solid-fuel medium-range missiles, or even conduct nuclear tests.
Consequently, North Korea is expected to intensify both nuclear and conventional military provocations, using hybrid methods including missile launches, nuclear tests, GPS disruptions, and cyberattacks, to instill fear among the South Korean population.
Furthermore, there is an opinion that North Korea may intensify espionage activities against the South.
[Korean reaction]
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Ugh, they are like a cancer to humanity.
Just like his father, Kim Jong-un ends up only making provocations his whole life.
What's the surprise... We have no intention of discussing unification with a dictatorship like yours. Let's just live separately.
Working hard for Trump's election. They'll probably do a nuclear test soon.
Who's going to take responsibility for this? Answer me, Moon Jae-in.
ㄴ Just because the pig babbles doesn't mean you should take it seriously. The brain is there to think, ugh.
If war breaks out between North and South Korea, it's not Kim Jong-un and his remnants that are scary. It's the leftists pointing guns at us from behind.
ㄴ If war breaks out, he'll be the first one to run away, not thinking about defending South Korea.
Unification? They should be grateful if we even accept them with their heads bowed.
They threaten us with nuclear weapons, so it's understandable that we also want to possess nuclear arms.
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