PYONGYANG — Tensions on the Korean Peninsula spiked this week after Pyongyang sounded a defiant tone against the West and vowed to “murder as many of our proud people as necessary” to resist American aggression.

North Korea’s broadside was triggered by President Joe Biden’s address to Congress last month, where he categorized Iranian and North Korean nuclear programs as threats to the United States.

“It is ridiculous to imply that our heavenly mandated nuclear program is a threat,” said Kim Yo Jong, a sibling of national leader Kim Jong-un who he has not yet murdered. “We will not tolerate more bellicose words, and we stand ready to butcher many [more] North Koreans to show we mean business.”