Kim Jong-un escalates tensions with South Korea, calling Yoon 'Abnormal' in nuclear warning

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un has issued a stark warning, threatening to use nuclear weapons “without hesitation” in the event of a nuclear conflict, while personally ridiculing South Korea’s President Yoon Suk Yeol as an “abnormal man” and a “puppet.”

Kim’s remarks, delivered during a visit to a North Korean army special operations base, were reported by state media KCNA. He ominously claimed that the “permanent existence” of Seoul would be impossible if a nuclear conflict were to break out. His latest comments come in response to President Yoon’s recent speech on South Korea’s Armed Forces Day, in which Yoon vowed to bring about “the end of the North Korean regime” if Pyongyang were to use its nuclear arsenal.

The timing of Kim’s remarks coincides with South Korea’s unveiling of its powerful Hyunmoo-5 ballistic missile, a weapon capable of targeting the North, alongside other conventional military assets. In response, Kim derided Yoon’s show of military strength, accusing the South Korean president of displaying “bellicose temerity” and reacting out of “security uneasiness and irritating psychology.”

“The puppet Yoon bragged about an overwhelming counteraction of military muscle at the doorstep of a state that possesses nuclear weapons,” Kim said, referring to South Korea’s defense posture.

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This exchange marks the first time in two years that Kim has directly attacked Yoon without formally addressing him as president. It follows a pattern of escalating rhetoric from Kim, who, in July 2022, first singled out Yoon for threatening North Korea’s right to self-defense. However, the personal nature of Kim’s latest remarks—calling Yoon “abnormal”—suggests a further deterioration in the already strained relationship between the two Koreas.

These heated words come amid rising tensions over North Korea’s nuclear program, which continues to expand through missile tests and the recent disclosure of a nuclear facility. Next week, North Korea’s parliament is expected to make a significant constitutional declaration, formally rejecting any possibility of reconciliation with South Korea. This move would codify a “two-state” system on the Korean Peninsula, solidifying the country’s hostile stance toward its southern neighbor.

According to the South Korean unification ministry, North Korea’s expected parliamentary decision will also scrap a historic inter-Korean agreement signed in 1991 that aimed to reduce hostilities and promote peace. Pyongyang withdrew from the agreement last December, reclassifying inter-Korean relations as being between “two hostile states.”

While the war of words between the two Koreas is far from new, Kim’s latest tirade, coupled with nuclear threats, underscores the heightened danger of confrontation on the Korean Peninsula.