Seoul comments on Kim Jong Un's statements about "destroying all of South Korea"

The South Korean Foreign Ministry commented on North Korean leader Kim Jong Un's statements that Pyongyang will use its entire arsenal to completely destroy South Korea in the event of any "military provocation" by Seoul.

Yonhap quoted a South Korean Foreign Ministry official as saying: “(Kim’s statement) assumes that South Korea will use force against the North even though it has never initiated the use of force.”

The official continued: "The government will respond firmly to any provocations by North Korea and any attempts to raise tensions on the Korean Peninsula will ultimately harm the North Korean regime itself."

North Korea's Central News Agency quoted Kim Jong Un as saying, during his visit to military industry facilities on Tuesday: "If the Republic of Korea tries to use the armed forces against our state or threaten our sovereignty and security, we will not hesitate to use our entire arsenal and all the forces and means we have to destroy The entire Republic of Korea.

This comes in the wake of Pyongyang's announcement last November of abandoning its commitment to the tension reduction agreement with Seoul signed in 2018 in response to South Korea's suspension of implementing some of its obligations against the backdrop of North Korea's launch of a spy satellite.

The Indonesian Defense Minister calls for strengthening his country's army to avoid the fate of Gaza

Indonesian Defense Minister and presidential candidate Prapovo Subianto called for strengthening his country's army and military forces, to avoid the fate of the Gaza Strip.

The Indonesian website Kompas reported that the minister expressed this position during the third debate between the three presidential candidates in Indonesia.

Subianto said that Indonesia "will not be respected" unless it has military force, referring to the Gaza Strip.

He added: “I believe that we will gain respect only through strong defense, and we will protect our national interests. If we open the most important basic scientific books, we will see that national strength must be guaranteed by military force. The history and human civilization teach us that a nation without military force can be destroyed, as is happening today.” In the Gaza Strip, which is deprived of its wealth, we must be strong.”