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North Korea will not use nuclear weapons first, says Kim Jong-un North Korea will not use nuclear weapons first, says Kim Jong-un
(about 2 hours later)
North Korea’s leader, Kim Jong -un, has said his country will not use nuclear weapons unless its sovereignty is infringed on by others with nuclear arms, and that it is willing to normalise ties with “hostile” states, state media reported. North Korea will not use nuclear weapons against other nations unless its sovereignty is threatened, and will work toward nonproliferation and global stability, leader Kim Jong-un has said, according to state media.
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The north would faithfully fulfil its obligation for nuclear non-proliferation and strive to end nuclear buildup in the world, Kim said in a report to a congress of its ruling Workers’ party (WPK) which opened on Friday, the KCNA news agency said. “It is our party’s goal to build a peaceful world free from war and it is the constant stand of our party … to struggle for regional and global peace and security,” Kim said.
The first congress in 36 years began with much fanfare amid anticipation by the South Korean government and experts that the young leader would try to use it to further consolidate power in the state he took over in 2011 after his father’s sudden death. The comments, reported by the state-controlled Korea Central News Agency on Sunday, were made at the 7th Congress of the Workers’ Party, a gathering organised by the country to select new leaders and create an agenda for the country over the coming years.
“As a responsible nuclear weapons state, our republic will not use a nuclear weapon unless its sovereignty is encroached upon by any aggressive hostile forces with nukes,” KCNA quoted Kim as saying. “And it will faithfully fulfil its obligation for non-proliferation and strive for the global denuclearisation.” Pyongyang would not use nuclear weapons against any nation unless “its sovereignty is encroached upon by any hostile force with nuclear weapons”, Kim said. North Korea will also “faithfully fulfil its obligation for nonproliferation and strive for the global denuclearisation”.
“The WPK and the DPRK government will improve and normalise the relations with those countries which respect the sovereignty of the DPRK and are friendly towards it, though they had been hostile toward it in the past.” Despite the apparent overture to foreign powers, Kim said that the nation would “permanently” follow its policy of pursuing economic and military development in tandem, known as the “Byungjin Line”.
Kim also called for improved ties with the rival south by erasing misunderstanding and mistrust, although he had made similar proposals in the past which led to talks by government officials that made little progress. Observers had anticipated Kim would use the congress to propose talks with rivals to exploit what the dictator considers to be increased leverage as a nuclear power.
The North was ready to improve and normalize ties with countries hostile to it if they respected its sovereignty and approach it in a “friendly manner”, Kim said.
He also announced a five-year plan starting this year to develop the North’s dismal economy and identified improving the country’s power supply and increasing its agricultural and light-manufacturing production as the critical parts of the program, the KCNA said.
Analysts have anticipated Kim would use the congress to propose talks with rivals to exploit what he considers to be increased leverage as a nuclear power.
North Korea carried out its fourth nuclear test in January and followed with a satellite launch in February that was seen by outside governments as a banned test for long-range missile technology, earning worldwide condemnation and tougher UN sanctions.North Korea carried out its fourth nuclear test in January and followed with a satellite launch in February that was seen by outside governments as a banned test for long-range missile technology, earning worldwide condemnation and tougher UN sanctions.
The North responded to the punitive measures, and also the annual US-South Korean military drills in March and April, by firing a series of missiles and artillery into the sea. It also claimed advancements in developing nuclear weapons and long-range missiles, and combined them with threats of pre-emptive nuclear strikes on Washington and Seoul.The North responded to the punitive measures, and also the annual US-South Korean military drills in March and April, by firing a series of missiles and artillery into the sea. It also claimed advancements in developing nuclear weapons and long-range missiles, and combined them with threats of pre-emptive nuclear strikes on Washington and Seoul.
Analysts said that the North’s belligerent stance might have been intended at rallying North Korean people around Kim ahead of the congress and also promote military accomplishments to the domestic audience to make up for the lack of tangible economic achievements to present at the party meeting. But analysts took Kim’s comments to congress with a pinch of salt.
South Korea has taken a hard-line approach to North Korea following its nuclear test and long-range rocket launch, shutting down a jointly-run factory park in a North Korean border town that had been the last remaining symbol of cooperation between the rivals and slapping Pyongyang with its own economic sanctions. “North Korea has recently been seeking a peace treaty to end the Korean war,” said Bruce Bennett, senior defence analyst at the Pardee RAND Graduate School in the US. “The purpose of this is to lay the groundwork for the US to withdraw from the Korean peninsula, at which point the north would be able to attack the South.”
Seoul has also been in talks with Washington on deploying a sophisticated US missile defense system in South Korea. Bennett said that this would allow Kim to consolidate power at a time when he faces instability at home. “Kim Jong-un says he won’t use nuclear weapons unless he is under threat, but the entire purpose of congress is to consolidate his power. He is under threat from inside now.”
The international community, according to Bennett, should demand that the north refrains from developing weapons, put a cap on the ones it has now and stops indoctrinating the population to see the US as an eternal enemy if it is serious about peace.
He pointed out that in the past Pyongyang has declared its intention to attack outside powers if the regime is under threat. “A North Korea with 20 or 30 or 50 nuclear weapons is a direct threat to China, and not just to the U.S,” he said.
Others viewed the congress in a similar light. “They want to declare Kim’s legitimate rule for the next 50 years,” said Victor Cha, Korea chair at the Washington-based Centre for Strategic and International Studies. “High-level purging by Kim in advance of the party congress suggests some internal churn.”
In remarks apparently aimed at nations such as South Korea, Japan and the United States, Kim suggested that the nation will look to internationalise further, and “improve and normalize the relations with those countries which respect the sovereignty of the DPRK and are friendly towards it, though they had been hostile toward it in the past”.
Toward that end, it is likely that a more outward-looking party elite will be selected. “The congress is likely to close by electing new party leaders, most importantly to the party’s central commission,” said Alison Evans, senior analyst at IHS Country Risk. “This cohort – like that elected to the legislature in March 2014 – is likely to be relatively young, with more women and individuals who have experience abroad.”
Related: North Korea releases propaganda film showing Washington under nuclear attackRelated: North Korea releases propaganda film showing Washington under nuclear attack
North Korea had spent the past months resisting talks with the South and threatening attacks against it, but Kim spoke with a different tone at the conference. He said “fundamentally improving” inter-Korean relations was an urgent matter for his government and also called for the South to “hold hands” with the North as a “companion” for unification, the KCNA said. Pyongyang has seen development in recent years due to the rise of an informal economy, in which dollars can be traded for the local currency on the black market and many haggle goods to stay afloat. The regime apparently turns a blind eye to such activity as it has allowed the nation to fend off crises such as the famines of the 1990s.
However, Kim stressed that the South must first employ practical measures to improve ties and throw out laws and institutional systems that have hampered them. He also said that the United States should no longer be involved with matters in the Korean peninsula, and that if enemy forces “ignite the fire of war,” the North was ready to mercilessly punish the aggressors and accomplish the “historical feat” of unification. Evans said that since Kim Jong Un came to power, “there have been minimal economic reforms, despite his overarching policy agenda of …‘dual progress’ in both military and economic terms.”
South Korea’s foreign ministry said ahead of the North’s ruling party congress in Pyongyang that the priority of any future talks with the North would be its denuclearization. Foreign journalists have been kept away from the congress, despite being invited into the country to cover the event.