North Korea: Kim Jong Un rings in New Year by attending a play with his daughter

When Kim Jong Un ordered his country’s top military officials to “destroy” South Korea and the United States if the countries engaged in armed confrontation, the North Korean leader still had a good time. He attended an art performance at the majestic stadium in Pyongyang to celebrate the New Year with his daughter and wife.

Upon arrival at Pervomaisky Stadium, which is said to seat 150,000 spectators, making it the largest stadium in the world, Kim and his family were greeted by applause from tens of thousands of spectators.

In footage broadcast by state television, daughter Kim Joo-ae holds her father’s hand before taking her seat, while her mother Lee Sol-ju applauds and smiles next to her. North Korean number one responds to the crowd, greeting them.

“At the end of the performance there are loud shouts of “Hurray!” “Kim Jong Un rang out in the stadium again and fireworks were set off,” described a voice-over from a TV program showing flag-waving participants on the show.

Earlier in a long speech later that day at the end of a major year-end mass setting the country’s strategic orientation, the North Korean leader issued new threats of nuclear strikes on Seoul and ordered military preparations to be accelerated. for a “war” that could “start at any moment” on the peninsula. Kim Jong Un accused Washington of making “various types of military threats” and ordered the “mobilization of all physical means and forces, including nuclear force, in an emergency” against South Korea.

Expanded joint deterrence system with Washington

The leader said he no longer sought reconciliation and reunification with the South, pointing to a “persistent and uncontrollable crisis situation” that he said was provoked by Seoul and Washington.

The North Korean leader then ordered his country’s top military to “destroy” South Korea and the United States if the countries started an armed confrontation, KCNA news agency reported Monday. “If the enemy chooses confrontation and military provocation against the (Democratic People’s Republic of Korea), our army must strike a fatal blow to completely destroy it by mobilizing all the strongest means without the slightest hesitation,” he said. North Korea recently succeeded in launching a spy satellite and a missile capable of reaching the United States.

This Monday, South Korean President Yoon Seok-yeol vowed to contain Pyongyang’s military provocations through an extensive joint deterrence system with Washington, which is scheduled to be implemented in the first half of 2024. The system will “fundamentally deter any nuclear or missile threat” from North Korea, Yoon said during his New Year’s speech.