North Korea warns of ‘renewing records’ in strategic deterrence over US aircraft carrier’s entry to South

Seoul: The powerful sister of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un on Tuesday warned of “renewing” the country’s records in strategic deterrence, denouncing the recent arrival of a US aircraft carrier in South Korea as an attempt to “threaten and pressurise” its regime.

Kim Yo-jong made the condemnation as the USS Carl Vinson, a Nimitz-class US aircraft carrier, entered a key naval base in the southeastern city of Busan on Sunday, as part of the US commitment to providing extended deterrence against North Korean threats, Yonhap news agency reported.

She accused the US of deploying its strategic assets to the Korean Peninsula at the “constant” level, denouncing the USS Carl Vinson’s South Korea entry as Washington’s expression of its “most hostile and confrontational will” against the North, according to her statement carried by the Korean Central News Agency.

“As indicated by the regional military situation, the US and its stooges’ heinous ambition to threaten, pressurise and bring the DPRK to its knees by force of arms is developing into a more reckless phase,” Kim argued, referring to her country by its official name, the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea.

The US’ hostile policy constitutes “sufficient justification” for North Korea to “indefinitely bolster up its nuclear war deterrent,” Kim also said, warning that her country will be compelled to “renew its records in the exercise of strategic deterrence” should the US continue military demonstration.

“The DPRK is also planning to carefully examine the option for increasing the actions threatening the security of the enemy at the strategic level,” Kim warned.

An official at South Korea’s unification ministry denounced Kim’s latest statement as part of North Korea’s typical threats against the allies’ defensive drills, “recklessly shifting the blame onto the opposing side.”

Any statement from her is generally regarded as reflecting the stance of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un.

The latest statement is seen as North Korea sending a warning about the scale of the first major joint military exercise that Seoul and Washington are set to hold later in March under the new Trump administration.

South Korea’s defense ministry also condemned Kim’s latest remarks as mere “sophistry” to justify North Korea’s military provocations, saying its nuclear development can “never be accepted.”

The latest arrival of the USS Carl Vinson marked the first such visit by a US aircraft carrier to South Korea since US President Donald Trump’s return to the White House in January. The nuclear-powered vessel last visited South Korea in November 2023.

Its latest visit also came about eight months after the USS Theodore Roosevelt aircraft carrier arrived in Busan in June last year to take part in the inaugural Freedom Edge multidomain exercise conducted among South Korea, the US and Japan.

–IANS