Speaking on the policy directions for the new year at a key meeting of the country’s ruling party on Wednesday, Kim also said Pyongyang would expand strategic cooperation with “anti-imperialist independent” countries, news agency KCNA reported.
North Korea has been expanding ties with Russia, among others, as Washington accuses Pyongyang of supplying military equipment to Moscow for use in its war with Ukraine, while Russia provides technical support to help the North advance its military capabilities.
“He (Kim) set forth the militant tasks for the People’s Army and the munitions industry, nuclear weapons and civil defense sectors to further accelerate the war preparations,” KCNA said.
On Thursday, South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol visited a frontline military unit in the eastern county of Yeoncheon to inspect its defense posture and called for an immediate retaliation if there was any provocation from North Korea.
“I urge you to immediately and firmly crush the enemy’s will for a provocation on the spot,” Yoon told troops.
During the party plenum, North Korea’s Kim also laid out economic goals for the new year, calling it a “decisive year” to accomplish the country’s five-year development plan, KCNA said.
“He ... clarified the important tasks for the new year to be dynamically pushed forward in the key industrial sectors,” and called for “stabilising the agricultural production on a high level.”
The North has suffered serious food shortages in recent decades, including famine in the 1990s, often as a result of natural disasters. International experts have warned that border closures during the COVID-19 pandemic worsened food security.
North Korea’s crop output was estimated to have increased year-on-year in 2023 due to favorable weather conditions. But a Seoul official has said the amount was still far below what is needed to address the country’s chronic food shortages.
The 9th plenary meeting of the 8th central committee of the Workers’ Party of Korea kicked off on Tuesday to wrap up a year during which the isolated North enshrined nuclear policy in its constitution, launched a spy satellite and fired a new intercontinental ballistic missile.
The days-long assembly of the party and government officials has been used in recent years to make key policy announcements. Previously, state media released Kim’s speech on New Year’s Day.
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un said Pyongyang would not hesitate to launch a nuclear attack if an enemy provokes it with nuclear weapons, state media reported on Thursday.
Kim made the remark as he met with soldiers working for the military’s missile bureau and congratulated them over Pyongyang’s recent launching drill of an intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM), KCNA news agency said.
He said the test demonstrated the loyalty and strong stand of the armed forces and was “a clear explanation of the offensive counteraction mode and the evolution of the nuclear strategy and doctrine of the DPRK not to hesitate even a nuclear attack when the enemy provoke it with nukes,” KCNA reported.
DPRK is the abbreviation for the North’s official name, the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea.
North Korea said this week it had tested its newest ICBM on Monday to gauge the war readiness of its nuclear forces against mounting US hostility.
The top diplomats of the United States, South Korea and Japan on Wednesday issued a joint statement condemning North Korea’s recent ballistic missile launches and urged Pyongyang to engage in “substantive dialogue without preconditions.”
Kim said Monday’s launch showed the military’s high mobility and rapid attack capability, and called for efforts to further strengthen its combat efficiency, KCNA reported.
In a separate statement, Kim’s sister, Kim Yo Jong, condemned the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) for holding a meeting over the ICBM launch, saying it was an exercise of the country’s right to self-defense.
“The UNSC should place heavy responsibility on the irresponsible behavior and act of the US and the ROK, which have aggravated the tension on the Korean peninsula through all sorts of military provocations all year round,” she said.
ROK stands for South Korea’s official name, the Republic of Korea.
The United States, South Korea and Japan staged a joint air drill involving a US strategic bomber near the Korean peninsula on Wednesday, the latest US strategic asset to be deployed as part of Washington’s pledge with Seoul to boost defense readiness.
Kim made the remark as he met with soldiers working for the military’s missile bureau and congratulated them over Pyongyang’s recent launching drill of an intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM), KCNA news agency said.
He said the test demonstrated the loyalty and strong stand of the armed forces and was “a clear explanation of the offensive counteraction mode and the evolution of the nuclear strategy and doctrine of the DPRK not to hesitate even a nuclear attack when the enemy provoke it with nukes,” KCNA reported.
DPRK is the abbreviation for the North’s official name, the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea.
North Korea said this week it had tested its newest ICBM on Monday to gauge the war readiness of its nuclear forces against mounting US hostility.
The top diplomats of the United States, South Korea and Japan on Wednesday issued a joint statement condemning North Korea’s recent ballistic missile launches and urged Pyongyang to engage in “substantive dialogue without preconditions.”
Kim said Monday’s launch showed the military’s high mobility and rapid attack capability, and called for efforts to further strengthen its combat efficiency, KCNA reported.
In a separate statement, Kim’s sister, Kim Yo Jong, condemned the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) for holding a meeting over the ICBM launch, saying it was an exercise of the country’s right to self-defense.
“The UNSC should place heavy responsibility on the irresponsible behavior and act of the US and the ROK, which have aggravated the tension on the Korean peninsula through all sorts of military provocations all year round,” she said.
ROK stands for South Korea’s official name, the Republic of Korea.
The United States, South Korea and Japan staged a joint air drill involving a US strategic bomber near the Korean peninsula on Wednesday, the latest US strategic asset to be deployed as part of Washington’s pledge with Seoul to boost defense readiness.
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