1 of 2 North Korean President Kim Jong Un at the annual meeting of the Workers' Party in Pyongyang on December 30th Photo: Portal North Korean President Kim Jong Un at the annual meeting of the Workers' Party in Pyongyang on December 30th 30th Photo: Portal
North Korean leader Kim Jongun again threatened South Korea with a nuclear attack and gave orders to accelerate military preparations in the face of a war that could break out at any moment, state agency KCNA reported this Sunday (31). He also criticized the United States.
Kim delivered a speech at the end of a fiveday meeting of the Central Committee of the Korean Workers' Party, an annual gathering that sets the country's strategic direction.
During this meeting, the ruling party announced the following plans:
- The launch of three new spy satellites in 2024.
- The production of drones.
- The development of electronic warfare capabilities.
In November, the North Korean government launched a military spy satellite into orbit and has since claimed that the equipment gave it images of both American and South Korean military positions.
This year the country also conducted a record number of weapons tests, including the launch of its most powerful intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM).
During the meeting, Kim accused the United States of posing “various types of military threats” and ordered his army to closely monitor the security situation on the peninsula and “always respond with a devastating attitude.”
“A war could break out on the peninsula at any time because the enemies are ruthlessly invading us,” Kim said.
South Korea, Japan and the United States have stepped up defense cooperation this year amid increasing nuclear and missile threats from the North Korean government, recently activating a system to share realtime data on North Korean missile launches.
In early December, an American nuclear submarine arrived in the South Korean port of Busan, and Washington sent longrange bombers for maneuvers with Seoul and Tokyo.
For the North Korean government, sending strategic weapons such as B52 bombers to joint exercises on the Korean Peninsula are “deliberately provocative actions by the United States toward nuclear war.”
“We must respond quickly to a possible nuclear crisis and further accelerate preparations to pacify the entire territory of South Korea by mobilizing all physical means and forces, including nuclear forces, in case of emergency,” Kim said.
2 of 2 Kim Jong Un sharply criticized South Korea and the USA at the annual meeting of the Workers' Party Photo: Portal Kim Jong Un sharply criticized South Korea and the USA at the annual meeting of the Workers' Party Photo: Portal
“Uncontrollable crisis situation”
At the meeting, Kim said he would maintain his country's policy toward South Korea: He would not seek reconciliation or reunification. . He said there was a “prolonged and uncontrollable crisis situation” on the peninsula, which he said was triggered by the US and South Korean governments.
Relations between the Koreas are at a low point after the North launched a spy satellite that prompted Seoul to partially suspend a 2018 military deal aimed at easing tensions on the peninsula.
“I think it is a mistake we should not continue to make to view people who declare us their 'main enemy' as someone with whom we can seek reconciliation and reunification,” KCNA quoted Kim as saying.
The North Korean leader ordered the drafting of guidelines to reorganize departments responsible for border affairs in order to “radically change course.”
Leif Easley, a professor of international relations at Ewha University in Seoul, said North Korea's emphasis on its “significant nuclear capabilities” actually serves to hide the country's meager economic successes this year.
“Much of what statecontrolled media publishes is propaganda,” Easley said. “The North Koreans' belligerent rhetoric suggests that their military actions are not just about deterrence, but also about their domestic politics and international coercion,” he added.
Last year, the North declared itself an “irreversible” nuclear power and subsequently incorporated that status into its constitution. North Korea's government says its nuclear program is essential to survival.
The United Nations Security Council has passed several resolutions calling on North Korea to end its ballistic and nuclear programs since its first nuclear test in 2006.