Kim is seeking more public support as his country’s economy has been battered by pandemic-related border closures, US-led sanctions and his own mismanagement. North Korea also gave in to its first Covid outbreak in Maythough the magnitude of illness and death is widely disputed in a country that lacks the modern medical capacity to deal with it.
“Kim’s rhetoric inflates external threats to justify his military-focused and economically struggling regime,” said Leif-Eric Easley, a professor at Ewha University in Seoul. “North Korea’s nuclear and missile programs violate international law, but Kim is trying to portray his destabilizing weapons build-up as a just attempt at self-defense.”
North Korea has rejected US-South Korean offers to resume talks, saying its rivals must first abandon its hostile policies toward the north in a clear reference to US-led sanctions and US-South Korean Army to drill.
South Korea’s defense ministry said last week that summer military exercises with the United States would include field training for the first time since 2018, along with existing computer-simulated table-top exercises.
In recent years, the South Korean and US militaries have canceled or reduced some of their regular exercises due to concerns over Covid and to support the now-stalled US-led diplomacy aimed at convincing North Korea to end its nuclear program. in exchange for economic and political benefits.