From there, the statement goes on to claim that the United States and its allies have been committing similar terrorist acts around the world under the guise of the war on terror.
“The bloody terrorist acts of CIA and IS backed by the U.S., the empire of evil, in different parts of the world surpass terrorism which is said to be perpetrated by ‘Islamic State’ forces.”
It claims that all members involved in the plot they suggest they have foiled will be hunted down everywhere in the world, but that they assume more plots are ongoing – in a strategic bit of PR that would now place any harm that befalls Kim Jong Un at the feet of the United States and South Korea, even if the result of an internal struggle.
“Therefore, it is our determination to root up all the dens of plot and trick like CIA and IS, the source of all evils in the world, and a series of more powerful our-style anti-terrorism striking actions will begin immediately.”
The statement is laden with threats directed as North Korean citizens they believe to be involved and international organizations like the CIA and South Korea’s Intelligence Services. They place an emphasis on conducting retribution operations in “our style,” which are not elaborated upon.
Although not without precedent, it seems extremely unlikely that the United States would be actively pursuing the assassination of Kim Jong Un. While seemingly beneficial to the overall peace of the world, removing Kim from power without an established and Western friendly successor would likely end in any number of ways that are all objectively worse than the current verbally aggressive but primarily passive regime. Kim often levies threats toward the world, but he has clearly established himself as the sort of man who either cannot, or will not, follow through on those threats.
Killing Kim could easily result in the emergence of a new leader that is less apt to hyperbole, and potentially more willing to use the fledgling nuclear arsenal already in his or her control. Worse still, a collapse of the North Korean government would likely result in an international emergency, as refugees may flood across the border and that same nuclear arsenal could find itself available for purchase, or lost entirely, during the ensuing social unrest.
In short, a living, breathing, and threatening Kim Jong Un is actually a safer alternative to assassination unless there already exists a group in place that is prepared to rapidly assume power and improve relations with the West.
North Korea has also established international precedent in terms of releasing official fictions and declaring them facts. Earlier this year, the North Korean government issued differing statements regarding the assassination of Kim Jong Un’s half-brother, Kim Jong Nam – with some claiming that it wasn’t him at all, and others claiming that he must have died of a heart attack. Interestingly, Kim Jong Nam was killed using a biological agent Malaysian authorities tied to North Korea.
Despite that, it’s important to note that North Korea has not levied such high-profile accusations about U.S. sponsored domestic terrorism before, meaning there may have been some inciting incident prompting this release. Due to their penchant for exaggeration and narrative manipulation, it may be difficult to glean exactly what portions of this story may have served as the factual basis behind their version of events.
The United States has yet to issue a statement regarding the accusations of the North Korean government.
Image courtesy of Sony Pictures
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