Inter-Korean War of Words Intensifies at UN; North Korea Asks, 'Does South Korea Plan to Develop Its Own Nuclear Weapons?'

Amid escalating tensions between South and North Korea around the Military Demarcation Line (MDL), the war of words between the two sides is also intensifying on the UN diplomatic stage.

Following previous clashes over incidents such as landmine explosions in the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ), North Korea has now targeted South Korea's deterrence posture against the North, asking, "Is South Korea planning to develop its own nuclear weapons?" as the verbal sparring continued.

In response to North Korea's repeated forced claims, South Korea also exercised its right of reply, which was not originally planned.

According to the UN on October 24 (local time), an official from the North Korean mission to the UN claimed during the 20th meeting of the First Committee (Disarmament and International Security Committee) of the UN General Assembly held at the UN Headquarters in New York the previous day that "North Korea has no intention or reason to do anything with South Korea."

The official continued, "Nevertheless, South Korea stages nuclear war exercises targeting North Korea with the United States every year and openly discusses countermeasure steps against North Korea," asking, "What kind of countermeasure steps are they going to take against a nuclear-armed state?"

Raising issues with South Korea's counter-measures against the North, the official added, "Are they going to develop their own nuclear weapons, or are they going to attack North Korea with U.S. nuclear weapons?"

The North Korean representative also brought up the South Korea-U.S. joint exercises conducted last August.

The official claimed that these exercises were "blatant nuclear war rehearsals" designed to master procedures and methods for attacking North Korea with nuclear weapons.

"The provocative party is not North Korea, but South Korea," the official said, strongly advising, "Rather than provoking us, South Korea should find ways and means to guarantee its own security."

Prior to those remarks, the South Korean representative emphasized that the joint defense and deterrence posture between South Korea and the U.S. is a legitimate defensive measure to respond to North Korea's military threats, while underscoring resolution through dialogue.

The South Korean representative stated, "Our delegation did not plan to speak today, but the repeated and groundless claims of the North Korean delegation left us with no choice but to exercise our right of reply."

The representative pointed out, "The South Korea-U.S. joint defense and deterrence posture is to respond to North Korea's growing military threats, and not the other way around."

They also criticized North Korea for continuing to develop its nuclear and ballistic missile programs in violation of multiple UN Security Council resolutions.

At the UN First Committee, battles of words have continued over recent military tensions between the two Koreas and North Korea's nuclear weapon development.

Previously, North Korea defined South Korea as its "most hostile state" and reaffirmed its hardline stance on inter-Korean relations, while South Korea criticized North Korea's landmine laying in the DMZ and its nuclear and missile development, urging a return to dialogue.

The South Korean government is also stepping up diplomatic responses, such as sending a letter to the President of the UN Security Council on October 22 regarding the North Korean DMZ landmine explosion incident, raising the issue of armistice violations.

(Photo: Capture from UN Web TV, Yonhap News)
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.