North Korea's harsh rhetoric seen as attempt to tame South Korea

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un and President-elect Yoon Suk-yeol / Korea Times photo

Kim Yo-jong warns of nuclear response in case of Seoul's preemptive strikes

By Kang Seung-woo

Scathing remarks made by North Korean leader Kim Jong-un's sister in response to South Korea's defense minister touting the South's "pre-emptive strike" ability were aimed at taming Seoul's new administration, which is widely expected to take a tougher stance against Pyongyang, including the use of military options, according to experts.

They also noted that North Korea's warning, the second of its kind in just three days, was largely propaganda aimed at bolstering internal solidarity amid economic woes triggered by the COVID-19 pandemic.

In a statement carried by state-run Korean Central News Agency (KCNA), Tuesday, Kim Yo-jong denounced Defense Minister Suk Wook's reference to possible pre-emptive strikes as a "fantastic daydream" and the "hysteria of a lunatic," adding that it was a big mistake for the South Korean military to highlight its pre-emptive strike capabilities against her country.

"If South Korea chooses to wage a military conflict with us, our nuclear combat force will have no choice but to carry out its duty," she said.

Last Friday, Suh said his troops had the capability to accurately and swiftly strike the origin of North Korea's missile launches as well as command and support facilities in the event of clear signs of an attack targeting South Korea. Kim warned, Sunday, that Seoul will face a serious threat for the remarks.

"Kim Yo-jong's two statements are aimed at warning the new South Korean government taking actions that will be hostile to North Korea when reviewing its policy toward the North," said Yang Moo-jin, a professor at the University of North Korean Studies.

During the election campaign, President-elect Yoon Suk-yeol mentioned the need to carry out a preemptive strike in the event North Korea appears ready to fire a nuclear-tipped missile at the South.

Along with Yoon, his national security team is widely expected to be composed of people who handled inter-Korean affairs under the hawkish Lee Myung-bak administration from 2008 to 2013. At that time, ties between the two Koreas experienced a serious downturn.

However, Yang also said given that Kim did not mention military action plans in the latest statement, North Korea has indirectly left room for dialogue with South Korea if the Yoon administration refrains from taking a hardline stance.

In Tuesday's statement, Kim said, "Unless the South Korean army takes any military action against our state, it will not be regarded as a target of our attack."

President Moon Jae-in chats with Kim Yo-jong, sister of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, while watching a performance at the National Theater of Korea in central Seoul in Feb. 11 2018. Yonhap

Given that both of Kim's two statements were published on the state-run Rodong Sinmun, which is largely for domestic audiences, the reclusive country appears to be trying to bolster internal unity by creating a sense of crisis.

"The North Korean regime has strengthened internal solidarity with a sense of crisis that South Korea or the U.S. may attack and as soon as the pre-emptive strike comments were made last week, it played upon the public's fears to this end as the country is struggling with economic difficulties due to the pandemic," said Park Won-gon, a professor of North Korean studies at Ewha Womans University.

In the wake of China's COVID-19 outbreak in December 2019, the reclusive state quickly closed its borders to prevent the spread of the disease, but the move has dealt a heavy blow to the country's already feeble economy.

Meanwhile, the second statement unveiled the North Korean military's strategy on how to use nuclear weapons in times of emergency, according to Park.

Since North Korea's development of nuclear weapons came to light, there have been mixed responses on when the country will use its nuclear bombs when a war breaks out and Kim made it clear that Pyongyang will do so from the beginning.

"In case South Korea opts for military confrontation with us, our nuclear combat force will have to inevitably carry out its duty," she said.

"One's nuclear combat force is mobilized to take initiative at the onset of war, to completely dampen the enemy's war spirits, prevent protracted hostilities and preserve one's own military muscle."

Park said it was a very aggressive scenario, which could be very serious.

"Minor conflicts, or conception or misconception, can trigger a war, but North Korea's plan to use its nuclear weapons at the early stage of a war means they are highly likely to expand into a full-scale war," he added.