Kim Jong Un calls for rapid nuclear arsenal expansion amid US drills

North Korean dictator Kim Jong Un called for the rapid buildup of his nation’s nuclear arsenal on Tuesday, reacting to joint military operations by the U.S. and South Korea.

Kim called the military exercises an “obvious expression of their will to provoke war,” according to North Korean state media. The U.S. and South Korea began their annual military drills this week, dubbed Ulchi Freedom Shield, and operations will continue sporadically through September.

The North Korean leader argued the drills show the intent by the U.S. and South Korea to “remain most hostile and confrontational,” and that North Korea must therefore “rapidly expand” its nuclear arsenal.

“Through this move, North Korea is demonstrating its refusal to accept denuclearization and the will to irreversibly upgrade nuclear weapons,” Hong Min, a North Korea analyst at the Korea Institute for National Unification, told Reuters. 

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The rise in tensions comes just days after South Korean President Lee Jae Myung announced plans to end some military activities along its border with North Korea, as well as restore a 2018 military agreement with its neighbor.

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The agreement ended some military activities at the border between the two countries, including creating buffer zones on land and sea and no-fly zones above the border to prevent fighting. It also ended military drills near the border and removed some guard posts along the Demilitarized Zone.

The deal was signed at an inter-Korean summit in 2018, but it eventually fell apart as cross-border tensions ensued.

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South Korea also dismantled its speakers along the border that had broadcast anti-North Korea messaging for years, a move Pyongyang reciprocated.

Lee said his government would continue to make “gradual steps to restore the September 19 Military Agreement.”

“I hope that North Korea will reciprocate our efforts to restore trust and revive dialogue,” he added.

Reuters contributed to this report.