North Korea threatens attacking and ‘occupying’ South Korea if provoked

North Korea’s supreme leader once again threatened military force against the country’s southern counterpart 

Kim Jong Un made the comments Thursday during a 76th anniversary celebration of the North’s Korean People’s Army.

“Defining the South Korean puppets as the most harmful primary foe and invariable principal enemy and deciding it as a national policy to occupy their territory in the event of a contingency is a reasonable measure for the eternal safety of our country and the peace and stability of the future,” Kim Jong Un said, according to Korean Central News Agency (KCNA).

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KCNA is a state-owned news outlet.

The statement from Kim Jong Un is the latest in a series of escalating comments from North Korean leadership threatening to destroy South Korea if prompted with an attack.

“Peace is not something that should be begged for or gained in exchange for talks,” the dictator said.

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Supreme leader Kim Jong Un, center, visits the navy headquarter in North Korea. ((Korean Central News Agency/Korea News Service via AP))

North Korea, a largely impoverished and ill-equipped nation, typically walks a thin line by voicing serious threats of military attack coded in the language of self-defense.

In recent weeks, Kim Jong Un has ordered a complete abandonment of efforts to eventually reunify with South Korea — a long-shot hope of both North and South since the beginning of the Korean War.

Kim has ramped up his country’s industrial efforts in recent months with the goal of building a nuclear-armed navy to counter what he perceives as threats from South Korea, the U.S. and Japan.

The navy “presents itself as the most important issue in reliably defending the maritime sovereignty of the country and stepping up the war preparations,” Kim said  earlier this month during an inspection of the naval facility.

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A view shows the 19th expanded political bureau meeting of the 8th Central Committee of the Workers’ Party of Korea, which was held from January 23 to 24, in Pyongyang, North Korea, in this image released by the Korean Central News Agency on January 25, 2024.  (KCNA via REUTERS    )

According to the Korean news agency, the warships being constructed in Nampho are related to a five-year military development plan set during a ruling party congress in early 2021. It did not specify the types of warships being built.

At the shipyard, Kim ordered workers to “unconditionally” complete the efforts within the timeframe of the plan that runs through 2025, KCNA said.

Fox News Digital’s Lawrence Richard contributed to this report.