- North Korean leader Kim Jong Un highlighted the need to secure “overwhelming military power” to defend its sovereignty and security
- At a meeting of the ruling Workers’ Party, he called for developing new intercontinental ballistic missiles and a larger nuclear arsenal to counter U.S.-led threats, state reported this week
- South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol called for “solid mental readiness and practical training” to ensure any North Korean provocations will be met with retaliation
SEOUL, South Korea: Amid cross-border tensions over intrusions by North Korean drones into South Korea, along with the North’s repeated missile launches, North Korean leader Kim Jong Un highlighted the need to secure “overwhelming military power” to defend its sovereignty and security.
At a meeting of the ruling Workers’ Party, he called for developing new intercontinental ballistic missiles and a larger nuclear arsenal to counter U.S.-led threats, state reported this week.
Meanwhile, South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol, during phone calls with military chiefs, called for “solid mental readiness and practical training” to ensure any North Korean provocations will be met with retaliation, according to a statement from his office.
Kim accused Washington and Seoul of trying to “isolate and stifle” Pyongyang with U.S. nuclear strike assets constantly deployed in South Korea, calling it “unprecedented in human history.”
He vowed to develop another ICBM system “whose main mission is quick nuclear counter-strike” under a plan to bolster the country’s nuclear force, the official KCNA news agency said.
South Korea has become “our undoubted enemy” being “hell-bent on imprudent and dangerous arms buildup” and hostile military moves, Kim said.
“It highlights the importance and necessity of a mass-producing of tactical nuclear weapons and calls for an exponential increase of the country’s nuclear arsenal,” Kim said, adding that these would be a “main orientation” of the 2023 nuclear and defense strategy.
As part of the plan, the country will also launch its first military satellite “at the earliest date possible” by accelerating the drive to build a spy satellite, with preparations in the final stage, KCNA said.
Inter-Korean ties have long been testy, but have grown even more tense since Yoon took office in May, pledging a tougher line against Pyongyang.
North Korea fired an unprecedented number of missiles in 2022, pressing on with weapons development amid speculation it could test a nuclear weapon for a seventh time.
