NKorea's Kim Threatens Nuke Use Again  10/08 06:04

   

   SEOUL, South Korea (AP) -- North Korean leader Kim Jong Un warned again that 
he could use nuclear weapons in potential conflicts with South Korea and the 
United States, as he accused them of provoking North Korea and raising 
animosities on the Korean Peninsula, state media reported Tuesday.

   Kim has issued similar threats to use nuclear weapons preemptively numerous 
times, but his latest warning came as outside experts say North Korea could 
ramp up hostilities ahead of next month's U.S. presidential election.

   In a Monday speech at a university named after him, the Kim Jong Un 
University of National Defense, he said that North Korea "will without 
hesitation use all its attack capabilities against its enemies" if they attempt 
to use armed forces" against North Korea, according to the North's official 
Korean Central News Agency.

   "The use of nuclear weapons is not ruled out in this case," he said.

   Kim said North Korea's nuclear response posture must be fully enhanced 
because South Korea and the United States are pushing to beef up their military 
alliance based on joint nuclear and strategic planning, a move that he said 
would increase the danger of breaking the balance of power on the Korean 
Peninsula.

   Kim apparently refers to the new South Korea-U.S. deterrence guideline that 
the two countries signed in July to integrate South Korean conventional 
capabilities with U.S. nuclear weapons to better deal with North Korea's 
evolving nuclear threats. South Korea has no nuclear weapons.

   Since adopting an aggressive nuclear doctrine in 2022, North Korea has 
repeatedly vowed to use nuclear weapons first if it perceives the leadership in 
Pyongyang as under threat. But many experts question if North Korea could 
really do so because its military is outgunned by the U.S. and South Korean 
forces. U.S. and South Korean officials have warned that an attempt by North 
Korea to use nuclear weapons would result in the end of the Kim government.

   Tensions on the Korean Peninsula deepened in recent weeks, with North Korea 
unveiling a facility to produce weapons-grade uranium, a nuclear ingredient, 
and continuing a run of missile tests. In recent responses to questions from 
The Associated Press, South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol said that North 
Korea's disclosure of that nuclear site was likely an attempt to grab U.S. 
attention ahead of next month's presidential election, and the North will 
likely stage major provocations like a nuclear test explosion and a long-range 
missile test.

   Many analysts say North Korea will likely leverage its enlarged nuclear 
arsenal for U.S. concessions like sanctions relief after a new U.S. 
administration is inaugurated.

   North Korea earlier said its rubber-stamp parliament was to meet on Oct. 7. 
But as of Tuesday, state media hasn't said whether the parliament meeting began 
as scheduled.

   Observers say the parliament meeting was likely meant to constitutionally 
declare a hostile "two-state" system on the Korean Peninsula to formally reject 
reconciliation with South Korea and codify new national borders. In January, 
Kim ordered the rewriting of the constitution to remove the long-running state 
goal of a peaceful Korean unification and cement South Korea as an "invariable 
principal enemy."

   All exchange and cooperation programs between the two Koreas remain dormant 
since a broader U.S.-North Korea diplomacy on the North's nuclear program 
collapsed in 2019.

   Since late May, North Korea has floated thousands of trash-carrying balloons 
toward South Korea, reviving a Cold War-style psychological campaign. On 
Tuesday, South Korea's military said North Korea was again launching such 
balloons across the border.