Remember when Kim Jong Un said commanders should annihilate the US?

We all know that North Korea's leader Kim Jong Un hates the United States and South Korea, there is no doubt about it. However, earlier this year, the leader surprised the world with just how open he was about his desire to destroy the two countries.

Back in December, Kim Jong Un asked his military commanders to “thoroughly annihilate” South Korea and the United States if the two allies opt for military confrontation according to a report from North Korean state media. 

On December 31st, Kim met with several of his most important military commanders in Pyongyang where the North Korean leader praised their exploits over the previous year and gave the group a "pep talk".

According to The Pyongyang Times, Kim thanked the assembled commanders for their service and defense of the country before providing an analysis of the security situation North Korea was facing.  

Kim assessed that the country was on the brink of war with the United States and South Korea based on the confrontational moves of the countries, and explained the urgent needed to further safeguard peace and security. 

Moreover, the North Korean leader explained the responsibility each of the commanders had in protecting the country. Kim also said that the destiny of North Kore was in their hands according to The Pyongyang Times. 

The more North Korea’s revolution advanced, according to Kim, the more outside forces like the United States and its allies would work to stop it. But Kim noted it was the job of the army to stop those efforts. 

If the United States or its allies opted for military confrontation and provocation, then Kim said North Korea's army should “deal a deadly blow to thoroughly annihilate” the countries by means of its toughest weapons. 

Whether or not Kim actually made these remarks is difficult to know since the story was published secondhand by North Korean state media. However, even if they weren’t, the report can provide some insight into the geopolitical game Kim is playing at present. 

North Korea has been increasing its bellicose rhetoric in recent months according to the Associated Press’ Hyung-Jin Kim, who reported the change was a response to growing US-South Korean military drills. 

The United States and its allies in the region have conducted a number of military drills on the Korean Peninsula, including Operation Freedom Shield 23 in mid-August as well as Vigilante Defense in October. 

In turn, North Korea has increased its weapons testing, which included the launch of its first spy satellite in November, as well as test launches of the country’s Hwasong-17 and Hwasong-18 intercontinental ballistic missiles.

Hyung-Jin Kim noted that experts believe Kim’s increasingly escalatory rhetoric and weapons tests are a political ploy by the North Koreans to raise tensions with the U.S. in order to gain political concessions. 

Kim “likely believes he can use heightened tensions to wrest U.S. concessions if former President Donald Trump wins the US presidential election in November,” Hyung-Jin Kim explained in his report.

“The Kim regime has closed the political door on denuclearization negotiations but could offer rhetorical restraint and a testing freeze in exchange for sanctions relief,” Leif-Eric Easley, a professor at Ewha University in Seoul, told NBC News. 

However, there are also clear indications that Kim has little intention of de-escalating the tensions based on the leaders desire to launch even more spy satellites into space and develop drone technology.

NBC News reported that during a year-end meeting of the Korean Workers’ Party, Kim vowed to put three satellites into orbit and develop the country’s attack drone capability in addition to promising to make more nuclear material.