The party’s speech suggests record weapons testing will continue until 2024 in defiance of international sanctions.
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has ordered his military to “accelerate” war preparations, including nuclear development, to counter what he calls an unprecedented confrontational move by the United States.
According to the state-run Korean Central News Agency (KCNA), Kim was speaking at an ongoing meeting of the ruling Workers’ Party and said, “To further accelerate war preparations, we will strengthen the combat mission of the people’s army, military industry, nuclear weapons, and civil defense sector. expressed,” he said. ) reported on Thursday.
According to the Korean Central News Agency, Kim also stressed that the “military situation” on the Korean peninsula has become “extreme” due to the “unprecedented” anti-North Korean confrontation with the United States.
The state news agency did not elaborate on the status of preparations.
South Korea, Japan and the United States have deepened political and defense cooperation this year in the face of North Korea’s record series of weapons tests, and recently launched a system to share real-time data on North Korea’s missile launches.
Earlier this month, a U.S. nuclear-powered submarine arrived in the South Korean port city of Busan, and the U.S. government deployed long-range bombers for training with Seoul and Tokyo.
Meanwhile, North Korea successfully launched its first military reconnaissance satellite on its third attempt, tested the solid-fuel Hwasong-18, the most advanced intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM), and added the status of nuclear power to its constitution. Specified.
Earlier this week, Kim defined 2023 as a “year of great transformation and great change” in which North Korea has seen “a spectacular victory.”
Last week, the United Nations Atomic Energy Agency announced that the second reactor at North Korea’s Yongbyon nuclear facility appears to be operating, calling it “extremely disappointing.”
Kim’s comments suggest that North Korea is unlikely to slow its pace of weapons testing or military modernization, although some analysts believe that Kim will probably continue to do so after next November’s U.S. presidential election. They believe that they are aiming to build influence toward diplomatic relations with the United States.
Nuclear negotiations collapsed in 2019 after a series of high-stakes summits with then-President Donald Trump over sanctions relief in exchange for North Korea’s partial abandonment of its nuclear program failed. . The country has been under UN Security Council sanctions since it conducted its first nuclear test in 2006.
North Korea is deepening its ties with Moscow, and Kim told party representatives that the country will further expand strategic cooperation with “anti-imperialist and independent” countries.
Kim made a rare overseas trip in September, meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Russia’s Far East, touring the Vostochny Cosmodrome, and later visiting military bases and weapons factories. The talks took place amid concerns that North Korea is supplying Moscow with military equipment for use in its war against Ukraine in exchange for Russian technological know-how.
According to the report, Kim also set economic goals for 2024, calling it a “decisive year” for achieving the country’s five-year development plan, and emphasized the importance of agriculture.
North Korea has suffered severe food shortages in recent decades, including famine in the 1990s. International experts say prolonged border closures during the coronavirus pandemic have worsened food security.
