North Korean supreme leader Kim Jong Un on Friday accused the United States of escalating tensions, warning that the risk of nuclear war is at its highest level yet. Speaking at a defence exhibition in Pyongyang, Kim described Washington’s actions as “aggressive and hostile” policies. His past talks with the US showed the nation has no interest in peaceful coexistence.
“Never before have the warring parties on the Korean peninsula faced such a dangerous and acute confrontation that it could escalate into the most destructive thermonuclear war,” Kim said, according to state media KCNA.
Kim’s remarks come as North Korea continues to expand its nuclear arsenal. The exhibition featured advanced intercontinental ballistic missiles capable of reaching the US mainland. Kim vowed to develop “ultra-modern” weaponry, calling it the only way to ensure the country’s security.
Kim further pointed to the failure of his meetings with Donald Trump during Trump’s first term as US president. The two leaders held three summits in 2018 and 2019, including meetings in Singapore and Hanoi, but negotiations fell apart over disagreements on sanctions relief and denuclearisation.
“We have already gone as far as we can on negotiating with the United States,” Kim said, without mentioning Trump by name. “But what we became certain of from the result is not the superpower’s willingness to coexist, but its thorough stance of power and aggressive and hostile policy toward us that can never change,” the supreme leader added.
Kim also accused the US of raising military pressure by increasing cooperation with its allies and deploying weapons like bombers and aircraft carriers. He called the Korean peninsula “the world’s biggest hotspot” and blamed the US for pushing tensions to “the worst phase in history.”
North Korea’s missile programme also targets South Korea and Japan. Analysts believe Kim’s nuclear ambitions aim to pressure Washington into recognising North Korea as a nuclear state and securing economic benefits.