[Anchor]
Amid complex external security issues, North Korean leader Kim Jong-un has made aggressive remarks. At the commissioning ceremony of a new destroyer, he claimed that the "balance of power" in the East Sea (Donghae) has been established through the nuclear arming of the navy. He also threatened to use "absolute power" if they are attacked.
Reporter Choi Jae-영 has the details.
[Reporter]
This is a satellite image of Chongjin Shipyard in North Korea from May of last year.
The 5,000-ton destroyer Kang Gon-ho is lying on its side.
An accident occurred during launching, and general secretary Kim Jong-un was furious at the time.
Yesterday (the 6th), about 15 months later, at the commissioning ceremony of the Kang Gon-ho, Kim Jong-un expressed confidence that the commissioning of the nuclear-armed Kang Gon-ho has achieved a "balance of power" in the East Sea (Donghae).
[Kim Jong-un / General Secretary of the Workers' Party of Korea : This is the issue that the enemies fear the most. It is the fact that the nuclear armament of our navy has been realized, making the use of deterrence more adapted, diversified, and practical.]
He also issued a threat that if they are attacked, they would counterattack with nuclear weapons.
[Kim Jong-un / General Secretary of the Workers' Party of Korea : If they attempt to use military force against us, I will order comrades to use absolute power that will be most fatal to the enemy.]
This is interpreted as an intention to clearly solidify self-defense capabilities through nuclear weapons first, despite U.S. President Trump's offers for dialogue.
Kim Jong-un also gave notice that he will unveil another naval reinforcement measure in 8 months.
[Kim Jong-un / General Secretary of the Workers' Party of Korea : We are currently implementing important plans to strengthen our naval forces. I will prove it to the world once again eight months from now.]
Kim Jong-un visited the construction site of an 8,700-ton nuclear-powered submarine in December of last year, raising speculation that it might be unveiled then.
[Hong Min / Senior Research Fellow, Korea Institute for National Unification : Except for nuclear-powered submarines and cruisers, nothing has been announced in advance or detected in terms of circumstances. Therefore, unveiling a nuclear submarine can be seen as the most likely possibility.]
At the commissioning ceremony of the Kang Gon-ho, Kim's daughter Kim Ju-ae, dressed in a white suit, drew attention by sitting next to Kim Jong-un.
(Video Editing: Park Choon-bae, Source: X (Airbus Defence and Space Open Source Center))
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