Government Issues "Overwhelming Response" to Kim Jong Un's Call to "Sweep Away the Namjoson Goerye"

Kim Jong-un Tours Military Factories Again Mentioning 'War Preparations'
Possibility of Considering Illegal Arms Exports to Russia
Unification Ministry: "Will Face Overwhelming Response... Focus on People's Livelihoods"

The government warned that North Korean Supreme Leader Kim Jong-un, who once again inspected major munitions factories and mentioned 'war preparations,' will face an "overwhelming response."

Ku Byung-sam, spokesperson for the Ministry of Unification, stated at a regular briefing held at the Government Seoul Office on the 14th, "The more North Korea escalates tensions on the Korean Peninsula with threatening rhetoric, the more we will prepare an overwhelming response posture based on the ROK-U.S. alliance."

Goo Byung-sam, Spokesperson for the Ministry of Unification [Photo by Yonhap News]

Regarding reports from North Korean state media that Chairman Kim inspected major munitions factories again just six days after his previous visit from the 3rd to the 5th, the spokesperson said, "Since the weapons he inspected are conventional weapons, we will not separately evaluate North Korea's intentions," but also pointedly remarked, "North Korea should prioritize restoring the livelihoods of its people over preparing for war."

On the same day, the Korean Central News Agency reported that Chairman Kim visited tactical missile production factories, combat armored vehicle production factories, and large-caliber guided rocket projectile production factories on the 11th and 12th. At the site, Kim emphasized, "The qualitative level of war preparations depends on the development of the defense industry," and even staged a scene where he personally operated a newly developed multipurpose combat armored vehicle.

North Korean State Affairs Commission Chairman Kim Jong-un emphasized "war preparedness" during his inspection of major military factories on the 11th and 12th. The photo shows Kim Jong-un personally driving a new armored vehicle at a combat armored vehicle production factory.
[Image source=Yonhap News Agency]

Chairman Kim has recently been continuously mentioning 'war preparations' and emphasizing the defense industry. The general assessment is that this series of actions is building a pretext for provocations ahead of the ROK-U.S. joint military exercises. Among the photos released that day, the phrase 'The enemies are the fuse of war, let's sweep away the South Korean puppets' was staged to be visible behind Chairman Kim, which is interpreted as reflecting this intention.

Two days before the inspection, on the 9th, Chairman Kim presided over an expanded meeting of the Party Central Military Commission, where he spread out a map of South Korea and pointed to the Seoul metropolitan area, instructing to "aggressively accelerate war preparations." Regarding this, a Ministry of Unification official said, "It seems he wanted to send a message to the South with threatening actions," but also sharply criticized, "Do not waste resources on futile matters and take care of the people's livelihoods."

North Korean State Affairs Commission Chairman Kim Jong-un emphasized 'war preparedness' while inspecting major munitions factories on the 11th and 12th.
[Image source=Yonhap News]

There are also ongoing concerns about the possibility of illegal arms exports to Russia. During his local guidance of munitions factories from the 3rd to the 5th, Chairman Kim used the term 'defense economic project' for the first time, showing an active stance on 'defense sales.' This implies linking the defense industry to economic value, and combined with the recent visit of the Russian Defense Minister to North Korea, it has been interpreted as suggesting 'foreign currency earning' through illegal arms exports to Russia.

In this regard, a Ministry of Unification official stated, "We analyze that North Korea's intention is to showcase achievements in the defense sector, respond to the ROK-U.S. joint exercises, and place multiple strategic bets including arms exports," and pointed out, "If the term 'defense economic project' means arms exports, it is a self-declaration of intent to violate United Nations Security Council resolutions, which we find deplorable."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.