North Korea’s Kim Jong Un warns South Korea, says US should end hostility

Kim emphasised that Pyongyang intends to cement its position on the global stage through its nuclear capabilities.

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has shuttered the door on dialogue with South Korea, claiming his forces could “completely destroy” his southern neighbour, while also signalling that the future of dialogue with the United States required Washington to discard “hostile” policies towards Pyongyang.

If Washington “respects our country’s current status as stipulated in the Constitution … and withdraws its hostile policy … there is no reason why we cannot get along well with the United States”, Kim said on Wednesday, as the country wrapped up a key week of meetings by the ruling Workers’ Party of Korea (WPK).

According to a report on Thursday by North Korea’s official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA), Kim also called for developing new weapons systems to bolster his nuclear-armed military.

Kim stipulated intercontinental ballistic missiles that could be launched from underwater and an expanded arsenal of tactical nuclear weapons, such as artillery and short-range missiles, capable of targeting South Korea, according to KCNA.

He also said the accelerated development of Pyongyang’s nuclear and missile programmes in recent years had “permanently cemented” the country’s status as a nuclear-armed state.