This declaration was made during his visit to a special operation forces unit, where he emphasized that North Korea would not hesitate to deploy its full arsenal, including nuclear weapons, if its sovereignty was threatened by South Korea.

This threat was a direct response to South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol’s comments on Armed Forces Day, where he showcased South Korea's powerful Hyunmoo-5 ballistic missile and warned that any nuclear attack by North Korea would result in a decisive response from the South Korean-U.S. alliance. Kim Jong Un criticized Yoon’s remarks, calling him "abnormal" and claiming that South Korea's conventional weapons could not counter North Korea’s nuclear capabilities.

Relations between North and South Korea have deteriorated significantly, with escalating missile tests from the North and intensified military exercises by the South and its U.S. allies. Communication channels between the two nations have been stalled since 2019, and North Korea has rejected the idea of peaceful unification, instead viewing South Korea as an invariable enemy