JAKARTA - The younger sister of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un stressed that North Korea is opposed to a war that would destroy the Korean Peninsula, but its nuclear power is ready to be deployed if South Korea chooses confrontation or a preemptive strike.
Kim Yo-jong, a senior government, and ruling party official, said the South Korean Defense Minister's statement discussing the attack on North Korea was a very big mistake, state news agency KCNA reported.
South Korean Defense Minister Suh Wook said on Friday his country's military has a range of missiles with significantly increased range, accuracy, and power, with "the ability to accurately and quickly hit any target in North Korea."
It is known that North Korea has tested a variety of increasingly powerful missiles this year. Officials in Seoul and Washington fear North Korea may be preparing to resume nuclear weapons testing for the first time since 2017 amid stalled negotiations.
Kim Yo-jong and other North Korean officials issued a statement earlier on Sunday condemning the statement, warning Pyongyang would destroy a key target in Seoul if the South took dangerous military action such as a preemptive strike.
In his second statement, on Tuesday, Kim said Pyongyang was against war, which would destroy the peninsula, not viewing South Korea as its main enemy.
"In other words, it means, unless the South Korean army takes military action against our country, it will not be considered a target for our attack," she said.
"But if South Korea, for whatever reason, whether it was blinded by misjudgment or not, opted for military action like the 'preemptive strike' touted by (Suh Wook), the situation will change. In that case, South Korea itself will be the target," Kim said.
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If the South Korean military violated even an inch (2.5 cm) of North Korean territory, it would face an unimaginably dire catastrophe, with North Korea's nuclear fighting force sure to act on its duty.
"This is not just a threat. It is a detailed description of our reaction to possible reckless military action by South Korea," Kim stressed, noting the South could avoid this fate by dropping a "fantastic daydream" to launch a preemptive strike against a nuclear-armed nation.
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