Kim Jong Un Announces Launch Of New Spy Satellites And Nuclear Resolutions In 2024

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un promised to launch three new military spy satellites, build attack drones and expand the country's nuclear capabilities in 2024, according to state media reports.

In remarks at the end of the ruling Workers' Party meeting over the weekend, Kim railed against the “vicious” actions of the U.S. and its supporters in working against North Korea, claiming the U.S. had helped push the Korean peninsula to the “abyss.” nuclear war,” according to the official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA).

“Due to the enemies' reckless invasion attempts, it is a fait accompli that a war may break out on the Korean Peninsula at any time,” Kim said, according to KCNA.

The North Korean leader pointed to the increase in joint military exercises by the United States, Japan and South Korea as well as the use of U.S. military assets, including bombers, over the past year, arguing that this was a sign that the U.S. is “heading toward a military confrontation.” Targeting North Korea “at any cost.”

The United States, together with South Korea, reiterated that the two countries will continue to act together against North Korea's threats.

Kim pledged to launch three reconnaissance satellites in 2024, a statement that came nearly a month after the country's first reconnaissance satellite was launched in November, KCNA said. The US said the launch was a violation of United Nations Security Council resolutions.

Kim later stressed the need to create a “reliable base” for producing more nuclear weapons and ordered officials to increase the North's submarine capabilities and develop unmanned combat equipment, The Associated Press (AP) reported.

Observers told the AP that Kim has expressed a belief that increased nuclear capabilities could give him the opportunity to engage in diplomacy with the United States and that his country could be granted sanctions relief if former President Trump wins the presidency in 2024 .

Trump had a memorable meeting with Kim during his presidency, becoming the first sitting US president to do so, which critics said was too great an honor for Kim.

The Biden administration has expressed willingness to hold diplomatic talks while imposing sanctions after the North continued to conduct missile tests in violation of U.N. resolutions.

“Pyongyang may be waiting for the U.S. presidential election to see what provocations it can win in the next government,” said Leif-Eric Easley, a professor at Ewha University in Seoul, according to Portal and AP.

“The Kim regime has closed the political door on denuclearization negotiations but could offer rhetorical restraint and a trial freeze in exchange for sanctions relief,” Easley said. “Although North Korea has no intention of giving up nuclear weapons, it may seek to extort money for behaving like a so-called responsible nuclear power.”

Diplomatic talks between the United States and North Korea collapsed in 2019 over the amount of sanctions relief the North could receive for partially abandoning its nuclear program. Since then, Kim has sought to modernize the North's nuclear supplies, including through increased production of plutonium and uranium.

Experts said Kim likely believes that if Trump is re-elected to the White House, he could make concessions on easing sanctions as the U.S. focuses on the wars between Russia and Ukraine and between Israel and Hamas, according to the AP.

Kim also used his comments to further dig into South Korea, calling the country a “hemiplegic deformity and colonial understate” with a society “tainted by Yankee culture,” according to the AP.

He also ordered the military to prepare to “pacify the entire territory of South Korea,” including by using nuclear bombs if necessary in response to attacks, Portal reported.

South Korea's Unification Ministry later condemned Kim's comments and stressed the country would try to contain North Korean threats through a strong alliance with the United States, the news agency added.