North Korea has ramped up its threats against its historic enemies as the state-run news agency reported on the weekend “physical clashes and war” are only a matter of time.
Tensions on the Korean peninsula skyrocketed in late November, after North Korea breached international sanctions by launching into space a military spy satellite.
This move brought to an abrupt end an agreement struck in 2018, the Comprehensive Military Agreement, by North and South Korea which aimed at reducing tensions and the chance of accidental military escalation between Seoul and Pyongyang.
Moreover, the launch into orbit of the Malligyong-1 spy satellite prompted the US and its allies to slap new sanctions on Pyongyang.
On Sunday, the state-run Korean Central News Agency further stoked tensions as it cited a military commentator saying the “physical clash and war on the Korean Peninsula have become a matter of time, not possibility”. Given South Korea is a close ally of the US, provocatory moves from Pyongyang against Seoul may have repercussion across the whole world.
The unnamed expert was also reported to say that “any hostile act” would lead to the “total collapse” of North Korea’s prime enemy, Seoul.
The launch of the spy satellite, the commentator added, was a “legitimate and just right” act by Pyongyang.
In a separate statement, this time released by the North Korean Defence Ministry, the hermit country warned Washington against attacking its space assets, as a similar move would be seen as a declaration of war by Pyongyang leaders.
In a statement on KCNA it said: “The US Space Force’s deplorable hostility toward the DPRK (Democratic People’s Republic of Korea)’s reconnaissance satellite can never be overlooked as it is just a challenge to the sovereignty of the DPRK, and more exactly, a declaration of war against it.”
The successful launch of the spy satellite came on November 21. Hours later, South Korea announced it would resume reconnaissance and surveillance flights in border areas – barred under the 2018 deal – which in turn prompted Pyongyang to say it would “immediately restore all military measures” and “deploy more powerful armed forces and new-type military hardware” in the border region.
Days after the launch of the spy satellite, attempted also in May and August, Pyongyang sparked furore by claiming to have received back from Malligyong-1 “detailed” images of the White House and the Pentagon among other sensitive US locations.
The North has also claimed the satellite took photos of military installations in South Korea.
These pictures, North Korea said, had been viewed by the regime’s leader, Kim Jong-un. These alleged images have not been made public by Pyongyang.
The spy satellite is thought to have been made possible thanks to the help of Russia, given in exchange for ammunition needed by Moscow for the war in Ukraine, according to South Korean intelligence.
