The daily publication of the Chosun Workers’ Party, Rodong Sinmun has declared that revenge will be visited upon Admiral Choi Yun Hee, President Park Geun Hye’s successful nominee for chairman of the ROK Joint Chiefs-of-Staff, for declaring that he would react preemptively to a North Korean nuclear attack.
The publication declared in an editorial entitled, “The Sleeptalking of a War Lunatic,” “Our revolutionary military is watching very closely every move made by the enemy and is in a high state of alert. If the puppets launch a preemptive strike, or even make a twitch, they will face our merciless revenge.”
“The war lunatics must not forget our grave warning that they will face unexpected destruction if they commit reckless military provocations,” it went on.
Speaking on his likely response in the event of a North Korean provocation during his confirmation hearing on October 11th, Choi had asserted, “I will make them thoroughly regret how wrong it was to commit provocations by completely destroying the unit that carried out the provocation, its support units and its leaders.”
With regards to a North Korean nuclear or missile attack, he said, “I would prevent them from doing it by conducting a preemptive strike using the ‘Kill Chain’ (a system to preemptively strike against a North Korean nuclear attack).”
The public threat by Rodong Sinmun appears aimed at emphasizing North Korea’s asymmetrical military superiority against South Korea. It may also be designed to incite political conflict in South Korea (so-called “South-South conflict”) regarding South Korea’s acquisition of response mechanisms against North Korean WMD, including the Kill Chain system and missile defense.
