The leader of North Korea calls for strengthening its nuclear capacity and “accelerating” preparations for war

North Korean leader Kim Jong-Un called on his party to “accelerate” preparations for war, including its nuclear program, state media reported Thursday. His comments came a week after Kim warned his country would not hesitate to launch a nuclear attack if “provoked” with atomic weapons.

On the second day of an important plenary session that the North Korean single party is holding towards the end of the year, Kim illustrated the tasks that the army and the sectors of the munitions, nuclear weapons and security industries will have to carry out civil. , whom he instructed to “further accelerate war preparations” in several areas, such as nuclear weapons and civil protection, state news agency KCNA reported.

The leader assured that “the military situation” on the Korean Peninsula has become “extreme” due to the war “unprecedented” comparisons.“from Washington.

South Korea, Japan and the United States have stepped up military cooperation during the North’s wave of weapons tests this year and activated a system to share real-time information on North Korean missile launches.

Weeks ago, a nuclear-powered American submarine arrived in the South Korean port of Busan Washington sent long-range bombers to carry out maneuvers with Seoul and Tokyo.

For Pyongyang, sending strategic weapons, such as B-52 bombers, for joint maneuvers on the Korean Peninsula are “intentionally provocative actions by the United States for nuclear war.”

This year, the North launched a reconnaissance satellite, enshrined its status as a nuclear power in its constitution and tested the most powerful intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) in its arsenal.

Kim this week defined 2023 as a “year of great changes” achieved by his country “revealing victories.”

The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) reported this last week. A second reactor at North Korea’s Yongbyon nuclear power plant appears to be in operation. which he described as “deeply regrettable”.

More tension is expected in 2024

North Korea could “send tactical nuclear weapons to areas near the border” with the South next year strengthen its nuclear programAhn Chan-il, a defector-turned-researcher who heads the World Institute for North Korean Studies, told AFP.

Pyongyang will take such actions to apply “strong pressure” on South Korea and the United States, while maintaining close relations with its traditional allies Russia and China, he added.

At the party meeting late last year, Kim called for “an exponential increase in the nuclear arsenals” of the country.

Weeks ago, the United States and South Korea held the second meeting of their nuclear advisory group in Washington, where they addressed nuclear deterrence options in the event of a conflict with the North.

They then warned that any attack by Pyongyang against the United States or South Korea would spell the end of Kim’s regime.

A North Korean Defense Ministry spokesperson criticized these countries’ plans to expand their joint military exercises and described them as “ “an open declaration of nuclear confrontation.”

The North declared itself an “irreversible” nuclear power last year and assures that its nuclear program is fundamental to its survival.

In addition to these issues that outline the direction Pyongyang’s foreign policy will take, Kim also spoke before party members about “issues that should be given priority” to strengthen the country’s political, labor or economic system.

He called the leader of the hermetic communist regime strengthen “key” industrial sectors. such as steel, chemicals, electricity, coal and machinery, and to accelerate rural development and stabilize agricultural production, giving priority to the development of regional and fisheries industries, among other sectors.

Source: agencies