Kim Jong-un drills front-line troops, branding S. Korea as 'foreign, hostile'

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un (center) points to a spot on a large map during his inspection of the 2nd Corps of the Korean People's Army on Thursday, in this photo released by the North's official Korean Central News Agency the following day. (Yonhap)

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un doubled down on the legitimacy of using offensive forces against South Korea in the event of a contingency, drilling into front-line troops the notion of South Korea as both a "foreign" and "hostile" country.

Kim on Thursday visited the headquarters of the Korean People's Army's 2nd Corps positioned on the front lines near the inter-Korean border, with Vice Chairman of the Central Military Commission of the Workers' Party of Korea Pak Jong-chon and newly appointed Defense Minister No Kwang-chol, North Korean state media reported Friday.

Kim "emphasized that our military must once again firmly recognize the undeniable fact that the Republic of Korea is a foreign country and a clear enemy nation," the Rodong Sinmun, an organ of the ruling party, said in its Korean-language report. The Republic of Korea is South Korea's official name.

Kim also stated that North Korea’s destruction of roads and railways connected to South Korean territory by blasting them on Tuesday "means not only the physical closure."

Kim underscored that the route severance "symbolizes cutting off the ill-fated relationship with Seoul that has lasted for centuries and completely erasing the futile sense of kinship and the unrealistic notion of unification."

Kim further added that the destruction of the route "is akin to a final declaration that, going forward, if our sovereignty is violated by the ROK, a thorough enemy country, our physical forces can be used unhesitatingly, without being bound by any conditions."

"As we have already declared, if our offensive forces are used in the precondition of 'if,' it constitutes legitimate retaliatory action against the hostile country, not the fellow countrymen," Kim was quoted by state media as saying.

North Korea blew up roads along the Gyeongui and Donghae lines -- key inter-Korean road and rail routes in its eastern and western regions -- by detonating TNT just 10 meters from the Military Demarcation Line between the two Koreas.

North Korean state media belatedly reported the destruction of the inter-Korean traffic routes, notably describing the severance as a follow-up action "in keeping with the requirement of the DPRK Constitution which clearly defines the ROK as a hostile state," effectively confirming a constitutional revision to that effect at a recent parliamentary session in early October.

DPRK refers to the official name of North Korea, the Democratic People's Republic of Korea.

During his visit to the 2nd Corps, Kim notably received a "report on the situation of the enemy from the corps commander and inspected the readiness status of the brigades under the corps, that have been shifted to combat readiness posture," according to the Rodong Sinmun.

Kim also met separately with the key commanders of the corps and "reviewed important documents reflecting the military action plans of the combined units, prepared for various developments."

"After reviewing various documents, Kim acknowledged that the corps had properly established military action plans for possible different situations and expressed his support for their determination," read the Rodong Sinmun.

North Korean state media notably released multiple photos of Kim examining maps, flanked by the commander and deputy commander of the 2nd Corps. While the maps were blurred in the images, the word "Seoul" was clearly visible in one map title, suggesting it could detail the 2nd Corps' operations plan for an attack on the South Korean capital in the event of a contingency.

Yang Moo-jin, a professor at the University of North Korean Studies in Seoul, noted that North Korea's 2nd Corps is responsible for the Kaesong area and the central-western front, and is positioned against South Korea's 1st Corps.

The Kim Jong-un regime has been stirring up sentiment against South Korea since the early October session of the Supreme People's Assembly, which is North Korea's rubber-stamp legislature.

North Korea has accused South Korea of sending drones into Pyongyang’s airspace on three separate occasions — Oct. 3, 9 and 10 — under the cover of night, allegedly scattering large volumes of anti-North Korean propaganda leaflets.

Yang said Kim's visit was an on-site inspection of combat readiness following the General Staff of the KPA issuing a preliminary operation order in response to what it claims was drone incursions by South Korea.

North Korea's unnamed spokesperson of the Defense Ministry last week announced that the General Staff of the Korean People's Army issued a preliminary operation order that "specified an instruction to place eight artillery brigades fully armed at full wartime strength on standby to open fire and complete various operational supply undertakings by 8 p.m. Oct. 13."

By Ji Da-gyum(dagyumji@heraldcorp.com)