North Korea's Kim wants to speed up becoming a nuclear superpower

SEOUL – North Korean leader Kim Jong Un said his country will speed up steps towards becoming a military superpower with nuclear weapons and would not rule out using them if enemies attacked it, state media outlet KCNA said on Oct 8.

Mr Kim mentioned South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol by name for the second time in a week in denouncing Seoul for colluding with Washington to destabilise the region to gloss over the fact it does not even have proper strategic weapons.

“Yoon Suk Yeol made some tasteless and vulgar comment about the end of the Republic in his speech, and it shows he is totally consumed by his blind faith in his master's strength,” KCNA quoted Mr Kim as saying, referring to the South's alliance with the US.

“To be honest, we have absolutely no intention of attacking South Korea,” he said in the speech at the Kim Jong Un National Defence University, a training ground for elite military specialists. “Every time I stated our position on the use of military force, I clearly and consistently used the qualification 'if'.

“If the enemies try to use force against our country, the Republic's military will use all offensive power without hesitation. This does not preclude the use of nuclear weapons.