NK builds rhetoric against Washington Declaration as justification for nuclear ambitions
2024-06-11 15:55:32
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| North Korean leader Kim Jong-un inspects what North Korea claims is the unmanned underwater nuclear attack craft "Haeil" in this photo carried by the North's Korean Central News Agency on March 24. Yonhap |
By Nam Hyun-woo
North Korea is ratcheting up rhetoric against the Washington Declaration, a South Korea-U.S. agreement on nuclear-based deterrence against Pyongyang, in an apparent bid to justify its nuclear programs, according to Pyongyang watchers, Wednesday.
According to the North's official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA), Wednesday, a group of young North Korean students held "a gathering for a resolution to firmly punish the treacherous and evil imperialist groups" of South Korea and the United States and "carried out a punitive ritual of burning effigies of invaders and provocateurs in order to bring death to the despicable enemies."
"As the wicked shape of the warmongering dotard of the United States and the vile henchman are ground to dust, the heat of punishment only intensified among the participants," the KCNA continued.
The KCNA did not clarify the meaning of effigies, the dotard and the vile henchman, but it is assumed they are references to U.S. President Joe Biden and South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol.
The propagandist article is the latest of the North's series of heated responses to the Washington Declaration, which Yoon and Biden signed during their summit in Washington, D.C., April 26.
The declaration is aimed at setting up a new Nuclear Consultative Group between Seoul and Washington to allow Seoul's voice in the U.S.'s nuclear planning stage related to its extended deterrence against Pyongyang, and the deploying of U.S. strategic assets, such as a nuclear ballistic missile submarine, to South Korea on a regular basis. The declaration is an outcome of Yoon and Biden's effort to counter the North's increasing nuclear threats.
On April 29, Kim Yo-jong, the sister of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, said the North would stage more provocative displays of its military might in response to the Washington Declaration while laying personal insults to Biden and Yoon.
Since then, the KCNA has been releasing a series of articles denouncing the security pact, citing its own "international security analysts," Chinese media and South Korean news articles which highlighted possible side effects of the Washington Declaration.
"There seem to be three reasons behind the North's exaggerated responses," said Hong Min, a senior researcher at the Korea Institute for National Unification.
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| South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol and U.S. President Joe Biden toast during their state dinner at the White House, Washington, D.C., April 26 (local time). Yonhap |
"The top purpose is building up its own pretext to justify its nuclear programs. Regardless of the Washington Declaration, the North has been pursuing its nuclear programs, but it will blame the declaration for its nuclear ambitions, as if it has to develop nuclear weapons to deter risks from South Korea and the U.S."
Hong also said the North will likely exploit China's and Russia's angry responses against the Washington Declaration, as a tool to strengthen its ties with them and form a bloc resisting the U.S. China and Russia are showing tense responses to the Washington Declaration and Yoon's comments on the Taiwan Strait and the war in Ukraine.
The analyst also noted that the regime is informing North Koreans about details of the Washington Declaration through the Rodong Shinmun and other intra-regime propaganda outlets, in a bid to seek unity among its citizens and ratchet up public hostility against South Korea and the U.S.
"This ritual of burning effigies of South Korean leaders is not the first time but carries the significance that North Korea is now attempting to propagate its citizens with anti-South Korea and anti-U.S. sentiment in a long-term perspective. This means the North is not considering an engagement with the Yoon administration for a dialogue," Hong said.
Cheong Seong-chang, director of the Department of Reunification Strategy Studies at the Sejong Institute, also said the North seeks to exploit the Washington Declaration as a tool to blame Seoul and Washington for its nuclear programs, and will likely stage more explicit nuclear-related provocations aimed at a full-scale war with the South.
"In the statement by Kim Yo-jong, she noted 'the second mission of its nuclear deterrence,' which means unification with the South by using nuclear force," Cheong said.
"Given that, the North will likely stage war drills involving strategic nuclear weapons more explicitly, and will likely conduct its seventh nuclear test to escalate the tension further … Regarding the U.S., the North is anticipated to carry out tests for inter-continental ballistic missiles (ICBMs) and underwater nuclear weapons to target the U.S. nuclear ballistic submarines."
Hong also said that the North will stage provocations starting from launching what it claims to be a "military reconnaissance satellite" in the future, then test launching of ICBMs at a "lower" angle. The North has thus far test-fired missiles at steeply lofted trajectories.
"Most importantly, the North is anticipated to make provocations with underwater weapons, such as submarine-launched ballistic missiles or cruise missiles, in a response to the U.S. promise to deploy nuclear ballistic submarines to South Korea," Hong said.
（作者：汽车配件）
