North Korea’s leader Kim Jong-un calls for rapid nuclear buildup amid US-South Korea war games

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un has called for the rapid expansion of his country’s nuclear armament amid “obvious” provocations of war by the US-South Korea military exercises.

Kim was quoted by the official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) as making the call during his visit to a navy destroyer on Monday after the United States and its regional ally South Korea kicked off joint military drills this week, including testing an upgraded response to alleged heightened North Korean nuclear threats.  

“The US-ROK intensified military nexus and the muscle-flexing are the most obvious manifestation of their will to ignite a war,” Kim said in reference to South Korea by its official name, the Republic of Korea (ROK), stressing that their recent joint drills involved a “nuclear element.”

“The prevailing situation requires us to make a radical and swift change in the existing military theory and practice and rapid expansion of nuclearization,” he added.

The United States and South Korea on Monday began annual joint exercises aimed at what they claimed to be preparation for potential threats from nuclear-armed North Korea.

The 11-day annual exercises, called Ulchi Freedom Shield, include “several large-scale, live-fire training events,” a US army statement said, claiming that the drills are a “defense-oriented exercise.”

According to the statement, the annual exercise aims to enhance the combined, joint, all-domain, and interagency operating environment, thereby strengthening the alliance’s response capabilities.

Pyongyang regularly criticizes such drills as rehearsals for invasion and sometimes responds with weapons tests, but Seoul and Washington claim they are “purely defensive.”

South Korean President Lee Jae Myung vowed on Friday to “respect” North Korea’s political system and build “military trust,” a day after Pyongyang said it had “no interest” in improving relations with Seoul.

Lee has pledged to pursue dialogue with the North without preconditions since his election in June, but Pyongyang says South Korea’s ongoing military ties with Washington have made any efforts at rapprochement pointless.

The North Korean leader’s sister, Kim Yo Jong, rejected last month the prospect of dialogue with South Korea, criticizing Seoul’s “blind trust” in its alliance with the United States.

She also denied reports that North Korea was removing loudspeakers near the country’s border.

In October, North Korea revised its constitution to declare the South a “hostile state” after Kim called for the rejection of the long-held official goal of reunification.