Key Points
- North Korean leader, Kim Jong-un has taken new steps to cut ties with South Korea.
- South Korea, Japan and the United States have increased their military exercises in response to North Korea's threats.
- y, South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol has described North Korea's government as "irrational."
North Korean leader Kim Jong-un restated he has no desire for diplomacy with South Korea and that the North would annihilate its rival if provoked, according to KCNA, North Korea’s state media.
The statement occurred during a visit to North Korea's defence ministry on Thursday for events celebrating the 76th anniversary of the country's army.
Kim said his recent moves to cut ties with South Korea would allow his military to take on a more aggressive posture "by securing lawfulness to strike and destroy (the South) whenever triggered".
North Korean leader Kim Jong-un has taken more aggressive moves recently to cut ties with South Korea. Source: AAP
Rising tensions across the Korean peninsula
Tensions on the Korean peninsula have increased in recent months with Kim elevating his weapons demonstrations and threats.
The US, South Korea and Japan have strengthened their combined military exercises in response to North Korea’s actions.
KCNA reported that Kim said he took the initiative to "shake off the unrealistic pretence of dialogue and co-operation with the (South) Korean puppets who sought the collapse of our republic".
Kim's remarks came weeks after he declared to North Korea's parliament that the country was abandoning its long-standing objective of a peaceful unification with South Korea and ordered the rewriting of its constitution to cement the South as its most hostile foreign adversary.
A strain on North Korea's 'broken economy'
In a pre-recorded television interview that aired on Monday, South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol described Kim's government as made up of "irrational" actors who are putting further strain on North Korea's broken economy by aggressively expanding the country's collection of nuclear weapons and missiles.
"We need to keep that in mind as we prepare to counter their security threats or provocations, preparing not just for actions based on rational judgements but also actions based on irrational conclusions," Yoon said.
