Taeyoungho: "The Decision-Maker for Nuclear Use May Not Be Only Kim Jong-un...Possibility of Sharing with Kim Yo-jong"

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Lee Ji-eun] Tae Young-ho, a member of the People Power Party, raised the possibility that the final authority to use nuclear weapons may not rest solely with Kim Jong-un, Chairman of the State Affairs Commission of North Korea, suggesting a potential decentralization of nuclear use authority to Kim Yo-jong, the first deputy director of the Workers' Party.

On the 14th, Tae stated on Facebook, "If Chairman Kim has revised the command structure to allow the second-in-command, Deputy Director Kim, to make the final decision on nuclear use in case of unforeseen misfortunes befalling him, our calculations inevitably become more complicated."

He cited Kim Jong-un's remarks at the party's 75th founding anniversary ceremony on the 10th, where Kim declared, "We will preemptively mobilize our most powerful offensive forces," interpreting this as "a public declaration of intent to use nuclear weapons preemptively based on Kim's personal judgment." Tae expressed concern, stating, "What is even more serious is the fact that the final authority to use nuclear weapons may not be held solely by Chairman Kim."

Tae explained, "A nuclear doctrine includes not only principles of nuclear use but also operational methods. In North Korea's case, until now, all control and command authority from nuclear development to deployment and operational stages have been concentrated in the supreme commander, Chairman Kim. Therefore, in clear cases of preemptive use, eliminating Chairman Kim or paralyzing the command system between him and the strategic nuclear forces could prevent nuclear war."

However, if Chairman Kim has revised the command structure to allow Deputy Director Kim to use nuclear weapons in preparation for his own misfortune, such methods alone would no longer prevent a preemptive nuclear strike. Tae emphasized, "We must carefully observe Deputy Director Kim's rising status and irregular actions in North Korea recently," analyzing that "Deputy Director Kim's mobilization of the military during the June demolition of the inter-Korean joint liaison office and his oversight of inter-Korean affairs indicate that even if external forces remove Chairman Kim, the North Korean military could still operate, including the use of nuclear weapons, under Deputy Director Kim."

He added, "The recent decrease in Deputy Director Kim's appearances during Chairman Kim's field inspections can be interpreted as an effort to avoid having the Kim siblings together in the same place as much as possible," stressing, "The decentralization of nuclear use authority to Deputy Director Kim means that preventing North Korea's nuclear weapon use by only targeting Chairman Kim's removal is impossible. We must take a more proactive approach toward North Korean denuclearization with a sense of urgency as if standing on the edge of a cliff."

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