Seoul: North Korean leader Kim Jong Un reviewed a rare exhibition of weapons systems and vowed to build an “invincible” military, as he accused the United States of creating tensions and not taking action to prove it has no hostile intent towards the North, state media reported on Tuesday.
In an apparent continued effort to drive a wedge between Washington and Seoul, Kim said his drive to build up his military isn’t targeted at South Korea and that there shouldn’t be another war pitting Korean people against each other.
Kim gave the speech on Monday at the “Defence Development Exhibition Self-Defence-2021′,” an event meant to mark the previous day’s 76th birthday of the ruling Workers’ Party. South Korean media reported it was the first such event held by North Korea.
“The US has frequently signalled it’s not hostile to our state, but there is no action-based evidence to make us believe that they are not hostile,” Kim said, according to the official Korean Central News Agency.
“The US is continuing to create tensions in the region with its wrong judgments and actions.”
Calling the United States a “source” of instability on the Korean Peninsula, Kim said his country’s most important objective is possessing an “invincible military capability” that no one can dare challenge.
Kim accused South Korea of hypocrisy because it criticises North Korea’s weapons development as provocations while spending heavily to increase its own military capabilities, including purchasing advanced US stealth fighters. But he still said his military doesn’t target South Korea.
“I say once again that South Korea isn’t the one that our military forces have to fight against,” Kim said. “Surely, we aren’t strengthening our defence capability because of South Korea. We shouldn’t repeat a horrible history of compatriots using force against each other.”
North Korea has sent mixed signals towards its rivals in recent weeks.