A disturbing statement. North Korean leader Kim Jong-un has called for "speeding up war preparations" for his country, including its nuclear weapons programme, because of the "serious political and military situation" caused, he said, by the "confrontational manoeuvres" of the United States and its allies, state media reported on Thursday (December 28th).
During the plenary meeting of the Workers' Party of Korea Central Committee, the annual meeting of North Korea's ruling party, Kim Jong-un ordered "the People's Army, the munitions industry, the nuclear weapons and civil defense sectors to speed up war preparations," the official KCNA news agency reported.
'U.S. confrontational maneuvers'
The leader made the call because of "the serious political and military situation on the Korean Peninsula that has reached an extreme point," KCNA added, referring to "confrontational maneuvers by the United States and its vassal forces unprecedented in history."
North Korea has conducted a record number of ballistic missile tests this year, in violation of numerous United Nations Security Council resolutions. In 2023, it enshrined its status as a nuclear power in its constitution, successfully launched a military spy satellite, and also successfully tested the Hwasong-18, the most powerful intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) in its arsenal, capable of reaching the United States.
For their part, the United States, South Korea and Japan have intensified their military cooperation, activating a system for sharing real-time data on North Korean missile launches and increasing joint military exercises in the region.
In recent months, the U.S. armed forces have sent the nuclear-powered submarine USS Missouri, the aircraft carrier USS Ronald Reagan and a B-52 strategic bomber to South Korea, each time angering North Korea.
Rapprochement with Russia
Pyongyang sees the military drills on its doorstep as a rehearsal for a future invasion of its territory, and has long viewed its missile tests as necessary "countermeasures."
North Korea also announced a new doctrine last year making its status as a nuclear power "irreversible," which the regime considers essential to its survival.
Seoul and Washington have warned that any North Korean nuclear attack will result in retaliation and the destruction of Kim Jong-un's regime.
"If North Korea does anything reckless that destroys peace, all that awaits it is appalling destruction," South Korean Defense Minister Shin Won-sik warned on Dec. 14.
Invariably supported by China, the country has also recently moved closer to Russia. According to KCNA, Kim Jong-un also called at the party meeting to "expand and develop strategic cooperative relations with independent and anti-imperialist countries."
With AFP
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