North Korea is no longer considering the possibility of reunification with South Korea, said Kim Jong Un, as reported by state media KCNA. 

The North Korean leader said that the North-South relations had turned into "relations between two hostile to each other and the relations between two belligerent states, not the consanguineous or homogeneous ones any more".

Kim also identified its South counterpart as a puppet state to the U.S., and criticised South Korean president Yoon Suk Yeol for escalating distrust and hostility in the region.

A puppet state

The Korean Peninsula is currently in a constant grip of uncontrollable crisis as a result of military provocations by the U.S. and South Korea, Kim said during the ruling party's five-day meeting which reviewed the development in 2023, as well as mapping goals for 2024.

Kim affirmed the nation's "unshakable will" to fight against nuclear war threats and engage in an all-out confrontation, which is inevitable in his view, given the increasing military exercises conducted around the region.

The U.S. and South Korean troops have been engaging in military exercises to hone their ability to respond to potential attacks in recent times.

In April 2023, both countries announced their commitments to adopt an "extended deterrence" against North Korea's nuclear and missile threat.

Biden had then warned that a nuclear attack from North Korea against the U.S. and its allies would result in the end of Kim Jong Un's regime.

In his speech, Kim said that a slight accidental factor within the area along the Military Demarcation Line can result in physical clash, adding that there are currently two states hostile to each other coexisting in the Korean peninsula.

No reunification

With these in mind, Kim concluded that reunification could never be achieved with current South Korean administration that believed in "unification by absorption" and "unification under liberal democracy".

These policies contradict with the North Korean belief of national reunification based on one nation and one state with two systems, he noted.

It is a mistake to consider the nation which publicly called North Korea as the "principal enemy" as the partner of reconciliation and reunification, Kim said, adding that said nation is "no more than a colonial stooge of the U.S.".

"South Korea at present is nothing but a hemiplegic malformation and colonial subordinate state whose politics is completely out of order, whole society tainted by Yankee culture, and defence and security totally dependent on the U.S.," asserted Kim.

He declared that North Korea is ready to respond to any military confrontation from the U.S. and South Korea with nuclear weapons "without hesitation".

Nuclear weapons, attack drones, military spy satellites

According to the same report, Kim also said that the North Korean Peninsula will be producing more nuclear weapons, developing attack drones, and launching three more military spy satellites this year.

"Because of reckless moves by the enemies to invade us, it is a fair accompli that a war can break out at any time on the Korean peninsula," Kim said as quoted by Reuters, citing KCNA.

Kim's speech on his geopolitical stance came ahead of the U.S. presidential elections in November, which could see a return of former President Donald Trump, with whom Kim had diplomatic relations.

Experts cited by Reuters predict North Korea will maintain their military stance for leverage around the U.S. presidential elections.

"Pyongyang might be waiting out the U.S. presidential election to see what its provocations can buy it with the next administration," said Leif-Eric Easley, professor of international studies at Ewha Womans University in Seoul, as quoted by Reuters.

No hostile intent

Meanwhile, the U.S. told South Korea media agency Yonhap that it has "no hostile intent" towards North Korea and remained committed to diplomacy.

While U.S. President Joe Biden's administration said it is open to talks, it targeted North Korea with new sanctions after the regime proceeded to launch satellites banned under United Nations' sanctions.

In his New Year's address, President Yoon said that South Korea and the U.S. will strengthen their defence posture to "completely block" North Korea's nuclear and missile threats, Nikkei reported.

Top image via KCNA.