It appears the Kim regime is trying to draw a wedge between South Korea and the United States by staging a major provocation next month with their announced rocket launch and now restarting their nuclear reactors. Next month also just so happens to be when the Inter-Korean family reunions were announced to happen. When the provocation occurs this will force the ROK government to decide whether to cancel the reunions which could have domestic political blowback for President Park:
North Korea said Tuesday it has resumed operations at a key nuclear facility and is prepared to use nuclear weapons against the United States.
The posting by the North’s state news agency came a day after Pyongyang said it has the right to conduct rocket launches anytime it chooses, fueling expectations that the provocative communist nation will conduct a satellite test next month as part of 70th anniversary celebrations of its ruling party.
The North is believed to use rocket launches, which it says are intended to put satellites into space for peaceful purposes, as a cover for ballistic missile tests.
On Tuesday, the North’s Korea Central News Agency said “all the nuclear facilities in Yongbyon, including the uranium enrichment plant and 5 MW graphite-moderated reactor, were rearranged, changed or readjusted and they started normal operation.”
“If the U.S. and other hostile forces persistently seek their reckless hostile policy towards the DPRK and behave mischievously, the DPRK is fully ready to cope with them with nuclear weapons any time,” KCNA said, referring to the country’s official name, the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea. [Stars & Stripes]
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