**Kim Jong-un Visits New Destroyer on First Day of Joint South Korea-U.S. UFS Exercise**
**Responds to South’s Reconciliation Gesture with ‘Strengthening Nuclear Power’**
“Role of Navy in Near Future Use of Nuclear Power”
On August 19, the Rodong Sinmun, the official newspaper of the Workers’ Party of Korea, reported that North Korean leader Kim Jong-un inspected the process of integrating the weapons systems of North Korea’s first 5000-ton class new multipurpose destroyer, the “Choe Hyon,” on the 18th, coinciding with the start of the South Korea-U.S. joint exercise “Ulji Freedom Shield” (UFS).
[Herald Economy, Shin Dae-won] Kim Jong-un criticized the UFS exercise, which is a joint military training of South Korea and the U.S., as a provocation of war and threatened to respond with overwhelming changes.
He personally stepped in right after the UFS exercise began, unlike before when his sister Kim Yo-jong, Vice Department Director of the Workers’ Party, had been front and center.
The Rodong Sinmun reported on the 19th that Kim Jong-un visited the “Choe Hyon” on the 18th, as the UFS exercise began, to understand the integrated operation test process of the weapons system and the training and living conditions of the marines.
During his visit, he stated, “The joint military exercises conducted once again by the U.S. and South Korea reveal their most hostile and confrontational stance towards the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea.” He criticized the deepening military alliance and military demonstrations of the U.S. and South Korea as “a clear expression of a war-propensity mindset and a source of disruption to peace and security in the region.”
He continued, “The military exercises of the U.S. and South Korea never fail to encompass provocative and dangerous elements, but recently, they are attempting military alliances including nuclear elements, further increasing their gravity,” and emphasized, “The changing situation demands us to respond proactively and overwhelmingly.”
He also declared, “Significant measures to accelerate the development of national defense power will undoubtedly continue” and affirmed, “Our steadfast determination and capability to protect the sovereignty and safety of the country will be expressed through practical actions.”
The North Korean leader’s remarks highlight the U.S.-South Korea joint military exercise as the largest impediment to inter-Korean and North Korea-U.S. relations, utilizing it as a justification for strengthening nuclear capabilities while essentially proposing the halt of the joint exercises as a precondition for improving and resuming dialogue in inter-Korean and North Korea-U.S. relations.
In particular, Kim’s remarks also serve as a response to President Lee Jae-myung’s Gwandeok and Independence Day speech on August 15, where he reached out to North Korea, emphasizing that “South and North are not enemies” and stating that “pursuit of unification by absorption” would not occur. However, Kim rebuffed this overture with an emphasis on strengthening nuclear power.
Moreover, Kim expressed special affection for the “Choe Hyon,” which he visited for the third time, and repeatedly urged the strengthening of naval power.
He expressed satisfaction after receiving a report on the testing process of the armament systems and the configuration of the integrated operation system of the “Choe Hyon” and instructed that the scheduled projects for August and September be completed and the next phase of performance and operational capability assessment be carried out by October.
He also received reports and held discussions with technicians and experts on the state and future plans for the construction of the third new multipurpose destroyer of the “Choe Hyon” class at Nampo Shipyard.
Kim Jong-un continued, declaring that the process would bring significant and momentous changes continuously to the position and activities of the Republic’s navy, and asserted, “Our navy will steadfastly become a reliable force within the national nuclear power composition and nuclear use domain in the near future.”
Some analysts suggest that North Korea might use the South Korea-U.S. “nuclear” joint training as a pretext for provocations involving nuclear submarines and submarine-launched ballistic missiles (SLBMs) under the guise of protecting national sovereignty.