The latest news on North Korea. North Korea’s leader Kim Jong Un has urged a rapid expansion of his country’s nuclear capabilities while condemning joint military exercises between the United States and South Korea as hostile acts.
The exercises represented a “clear expression of their intention to remain most hostile and confrontational” to North Korea, Kim Jong Un said during his visit to a navy destroyer on Monday, as reported by KCNA’s English version of his comments.
The large-scale drills, described by Seoul and Washington as defensive, were branded by Pyongyang as a rehearsal for invasion, with Kim warning that the security climate requires stronger nuclear armament.
Meanwhile, analysts remain doubtful that North Korea will engage with Seoul’s attempts at easing tensions, while upcoming talks between Washington and Seoul are expected to focus heavily on Pyongyang’s nuclear programme.
April 26, 2019 – Vladivostok, Primorsky Krai – North Korean leader Kim Jong-un during the ceremony of laying flowers and wreaths at the memorial of eternal fire in Vladivostok // Shutterstock