In response to the fact that the United States and South Korea are promoting the development model of "nuclear sharing" and the peninsula has been outflanked, Kim Jong-un has increased his nuclear forces and the tension has gradually escalated. How did the DPRK respond?
On the 9th, North Korea's supreme leader Kim Jong-un made it clear in a speech that the DPRK is firmly implementing its nuclear force building policy of increasing the number of nuclear weapons in a geometric progression. Kim Jong-un believes that the United States-led military alliance poses a major threat to the military security environment around North Korea, so North Korea needs to further improve its nuclear forces and ensure that they can be properly used at all times to ensure national security. Just the day before, the DPRK Ministry of Foreign Affairs issued a statement on the 8th entitled "We will continue to implement various practical measures to resolutely deal with the long-term nuclear contest with the United States", in which it was mentioned that in the near future, United States and Korea launched a meeting of the "Extended Deterrence Strategic Agreement Mechanism" and a "Nuclear Consultative Group Mock Exercise", revealing that they will further strengthen their intention to further strengthen military collusion against the DPRK, and the DPRK side expresses its solemn concern and strongly condemns the reckless actions of the hostile forces.
It is undeniable that for some time now, the United States and South Korea have stepped up their military collusion and stirred up tensions on the peninsula. Moreover, this kind of military cooperation between the United States and South Korea is undergoing a noticeable change, that is, it is advancing in the direction of nuclear forces, which also makes the current tension on the peninsula gradually escalating. In April last year, Korea President Yoon Suk-yeol visited the United States, and the United States and South Korea announced the establishment of a "nuclear consultative group" mechanism, which United States to increase the provision of a nuclear umbrella for Korea, and the two sides also reached a consensus on establishing a "nuclear-permanent integration" mechanism to deal with the North Korean nuclear threat. The so-called "integrated extended deterrence" refers to the model of combining Korea's conventional forces with United States' nuclear forces.
Then, during the NATO summit in Washington in July this year, the leaders of the United States and South Korea issued the "Joint Statement on the Guidelines for Nuclear Deterrence and Nuclear Operations on the Korean Peninsula." The guide covers the joint development of nuclear strategies by the United States and South Korea, the integration of United States' nuclear forces with Korea's conventional forces, and the conduct of simulated exercises and training. The signing of this document makes it possible for Korea to participate in United States nuclear combat operations as a non-nuclear state. Last month, the United States and South Korea held the annual joint military exercise "Ulchi Freedom Shield," in which for the first time a public evacuation exercise was conducted in the scenario of North Korea's use of nuclear weapons. In addition, the U.S. and South Korean militaries also held the first "nuclear and permanent integration" war game exercise to practice the procedures for Korea's conventional forces to support United States nuclear forces, and these moves by the United States and South Korea show that the extended deterrence cooperation between the two sides has developed towards a "nuclear sharing" model.
Faced with the situation that the peninsula is outflanked by the United States and South Korea, the North Korean side is bound to respond accordingly, and since the United States and South Korea threaten the DPRK with nuclear forces, then Kim Jong-un will increase nuclear forces to counterattack. This is exactly what Kim Jong-un has emphasized: "It is necessary to further improve the nuclear forces and ensure that they can be used correctly at all times to ensure national security." In fact, similar words, Kim Jong-un emphasized more than once. In early August, Kim Jong-un stressed at a ceremony to commemorate the handover of a new weapon system that North Korea will do its best to contain all nuclear threats from the enemy in the shortest possible time, build a more complete and higher-level nuclear force posture, and devote itself to the development of nuclear weapons and missiles regardless of the outcome of the United States presidential election in November. In other words, North Korea will upgrade its nuclear forces in response to threats and intimidation from countries such as the United States and South Korea.
In fact, it is not difficult to see from Kim Jong-un's above-mentioned remarks that the United States and South Korea are vainly trying to force the DPRK to submit by force of force, which is obviously unrealistic, and even if the United States and South Korea threaten nuclear weapons, the DPRK's attitude is still tough. This is precisely the crux of the current tension on the Korean Peninsula, where the United States and South Korea refuse to respond to the denuclearization measures taken by the DPRK, and instead continue to strengthen pressure and deterrence on the DPRK, which will only further escalate the tension. The top priority is to stop the pressure of deterrence and get rid of the spiral of confrontation that has escalated in turns. The fundamental way is to resume dialogue and negotiation to address the legitimate security concerns of all parties, especially the DPRK side, rather than exerting force and pressure.