North Korean leader Kim Jong-un called for an “acceleration” of his country's war preparations, including its nuclear weapons program, due to the “serious political and military situation” caused by the “confrontation maneuvers” between the US and its allies, state reported media on Thursday.
During the plenary session of the Central Committee of the Workers' Party of Korea, the annual high mass of North Korea's only ruling party, Kim Jong-un ordered “to destroy the people's army, the munitions industry, the nuclear weapons and civil defense sectors.” “Accelerate preparations for war,” the official reported KCNA Agency.
The leader made the call due to “the serious political and military situation on the Korean Peninsula, which has reached an extreme point,” KCNA added, citing “unprecedented confrontational maneuvers by the United States and its client forces in history.”
North Korea has conducted a record number of ballistic missile tests this year, violating numerous United Nations Security Council resolutions. In 2023, the country enshrined its status as a nuclear power in its constitution, successfully launched a military spy satellite, and successfully tested the Hwasong-18, the most powerful intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) in its arsenal capable of reaching the United States.
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For their part, the United States, South Korea and Japan have stepped up military cooperation by activating a real-time data sharing system on North Korean missile launches and increasing joint military exercises in the region.
In recent months, American forces have notably sent the nuclear submarine USS Missouri, the aircraft carrier USS Ronald Reagan and a B-52 strategic bomber to South Korea, each time provoking North Korea's anger.
Pyongyang views the military exercises on its doorstep as a dress 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 that makes its status as a nuclear power “irreversible,” which the regime believes is essential to ensuring its survival.
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Seoul and Washington have warned that any North Korean nuclear attack would trigger a response and the destruction of Kim Jong-un's regime.
“If North Korea does something reckless that destroys peace, only horrific destruction awaits it,” South Korean Defense Minister Shin Won warned on December 14.
Supported by China, the country has also recently moved closer to Russia. According to KCNA, during the party meeting, Kim Jong-un also called for “expanding and developing strategic cooperation relations with independent and anti-imperialist countries.”