Amid the continuing standoff with Washington, which has included the US and South Korea conducting regular joint military drills (and the US parking a nuclear-armed submarine off S.Korea to boot), North Korea says its giving its navy nuclear deterrent capabilities.
Kim Jong-Un says he is authorizing the navy "expanded use of tactical nuclear weapons". The alarming words, meant as a warning to Washington and Seoul, came during his visit to the country's naval command headquarters.
"From now on, KPA’s Navy will become a part of the national nuclear deterrence force, tasked with strategic missions," he said, according to KCNA.
He explained that the Korean Navy has remained "on full readiness for war" and could "destroy the target, designated by the Central Committee when the time comes."
He also specified that all armed forces branches will soon "receive new equipment" in accordance with the "policy of expanded use of tactical nuclear weapons."
"War is not only a standoff between vehicles and equipment, it is also a standoff between ideas, ideals and morals," he added.
Kim further emphasized that "the secret of rapid development of the Navy’s combat capabilities lies in a strong promotion of upgrade of equipment" and in staging drills in a "practical combat situation."
Kim Jong Un brought his daughter to stand by his side to mark the country's "Navy day"...
In the past two months, nuclear rhetoric on the peninsula has been soaring, especially in the wake of the Ohio-Class USS Kentucky having docked in the South Korean port of Busan as of July, which marked the first time since 1981 that an American nuclear-armed submarine arrived in the country.
