Pyongyang considers Seoul to be its “most harmful and unchangeable enemy,” the leader has said

Pyongyang must be prepared to seize South Korean territory in the event of an “emergency,” North Korean leader Kim Jong-un has said.

In a speech marking the 76th anniversary of the founding of the North Korean Army on Friday, Kim praised the military for “firmly protecting the sovereignty and dignity of the country” from “imperialist military threats, blackmail, and the risk of war.”

[Kim] said his country has “summarized the history of our people’s division and confrontation and defined [South] Korean puppets as the most harmful and unchangeable enemy” of Pyongyang.

Against this backdrop, Kim stated that in the event of an “emergency,” North Korean policymakers had “made a national decision to occupy and pacify [South Korean] territory.”

Last month, Kim also called on the national parliament to label South Korea the “number one hostile country.”

[...]

Citing US officials, the New York Times reported in January that Washington is worried that North Korea could “take some form of lethal military action” against Seoul. The paper’s sources, however, doubted that Pyongyang would risk anything resembling a full-scale attack.

(non-archived link: https://www.rt.com/news/592193-north-korea-ready-occupy-south/ )

  • fire86743@lemmygrad.ml
    ·
    10 months ago

    There is no way that the USA is going to allow the DPRK to just take over the South, even if we assume that they could beat the ROK armed forces.

    Optimistically speaking, it will probably look like the North taking over the South and then proceeding to be invaded and bombed to death by the Americans and then maybe being bailed out by the Chinese, unleashing World War III.

    • juchenecromancer@lemmygrad.ml
      ·
      10 months ago

      You underestimate the power of the KPA and Worker-peasant red guards. The DPRK is very different from what it was during the Korean War, where it had a relatively feeble army with WW1-era weaponry and barely any industrial base. The DPRK today is more prepared for war than it was 75 years ago.

      • fire86743@lemmygrad.ml
        ·
        10 months ago

        They could probably beat South Korea, but would they be able to handle the U.S. Armed Forces? Saddam's army was one of the most powerful in the world but they got fucked over when the Americans came in. The U.S. has had much worse luck when it comes to guerilla warfare, including in Iraq after Saddam was overthrown. Is the DPRK ready for a guerrilla war or can they seriously take on the USA in conventional war?

        • WideningGyro [any]
          ·
          10 months ago

          Saddam's army was one of the most powerful in the world

          By what metrics?

          • Rania 🇩🇿@lemmygrad.ml
            ·
            10 months ago

            Number it was like 1 million soldiers, but the iraq war was a shitfest with 10 years of sanctions under a dictator people don't already like, no electricity no water and bribed officials betraying the country for the US