Kim Jong Un says North Korea is ready for war if provoked

On New year's day, yesterday, many North
Koreans braved the cold and snowy January
weather to make their way to Mansu Hill in
central Pyongyang to lay flowers at the feet of
the giant statues of Kim Jong II and his father
Kim II Sung, the founder of this ultra-
authoritarian state.
Later, Kim Jong Un, the grandson of the founding
father and leader of the communist country,
appeared on giant TV screens to deliver his
annual New Year speech, which is the highpoint
of New Year’s Day in North Korea.
This was Kim's fourth Jan. 1 speech since
becoming leader. Standing behind a huge gold-
colored podium, he told the country in his normal
bellicose style that he was ready for war if
provoked but steered away from threats he has
made in the past to use North Korea’s arsenal of
nuclear weapons.
“If invasive outsiders and provocateurs
touch us even slightly, we will not be
forgiving in the least and sternly with a
merciless holy war of justice," Kim said.
As in previous years, much of Kim’s speech was
devoted to criticizing South Korea and its alliance
with the U.S.
"South Korea has made a unilateral case for
unification and increased mistrust and
conflict between us," he said. Kim did note
that he was open to talks with anyone truly
interested in “reconciliation and peace” in
the Korean Peninsula and was ready to
“aggressively” work to improve ties with the
South, a more conciliatory tone from his
prior speeches.
After a tense military stand-off in the summer,
when two South Korean soldiers were injured by
land mines, high level talks were resumed in
December but broke off with no concrete
proposals.
Kim, speaking for 30 minutes, promised to
improve North Korea’s struggling economy and
improve the country’s desperate living standards.
Pyongyang resident Choe Myong Jin reflected on
the speech.
“This New Year’s Day is significant for me
and I will do my best to carry out the tasks
mentioned in the New Year’s address," he
said.
North Koreans, however, have little choice but to
praise and follow their dictator leader.