North Korea’s Kim vows to ‘put an end’ to South if force used

His statement echoed earlier remarks in which Kim said his military should “annihilate” the enemy if provoked, referring to South Korea and its ally the United States, state media reported last month.

Images released by KCNA on Friday showed Kim holding hands with his young daughter, Ju Ae, who some analysts say is being groomed as the next leader of the isolated country.

The images also showed the pair receiving enthusiastic cheers from uniformed military soldiers, as well as posing for photographs with army commanders.

Kim said Pyongyang’s recent decision to define Seoul as its principal enemy was a righteous measure.

“The decision to define (South) Korean puppets as the number one hostile nation and unchanging enemy” and to “occupy and put down their territory in the event of a contingency is for the sake of our country’s eternal security”, he said, according to KCNA.