Kim Jong Un tells army to ‘annihilate’ South Korea, US if provoked
Al JazeeraNorth Korean leader echoes earlier bellicose rhetoric after promising to launch new satellites and further expand arsenal. North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has ordered his military to “thoroughly annihilate” South Korea and the United States if they initiate a military confrontation in another round of bellicose rhetoric targeting Seoul and Washington. At a meeting with North Korea’s top commanding officers in Pyongyang on New Year’s Eve, Kim said his military should “annihilate” the enemy if provoked, the official Korean Central News Agency reported on Monday. “If the enemy opts for military confrontation and provocation against the DPRK, our army should deal a deadly blow to thoroughly annihilate them by mobilising all the toughest means and potentialities without moment’s hesitation,” Kim said, using the abbreviation of North Korea’s official name. In his New Year’s Day address on Monday, South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol said he would strengthen his military’s preemptive strike, missile defence and retaliatory capabilities in response to the North Korean nuclear threat.