Condemning the expansion of his rivals’ maneuvers as invasion rehearsals, Kim has used them as a pretext to speed up his weapons tests, which have included the launch of more than a hundred missiles since early 2022, raising tensions in the Korean Peninsula to its worst level in years.
Experts argue that Kim’s nuclear efforts are designed to force the United States to accept the idea that the country is a nuclear power with which to negotiate economic and security concessions from a position of strength.
The meeting on Thursday of the central military commission of the ruling Workers’ Party, which Kim controls as president, discussed progress in war preparations and the establishment of counter-offensive plans to deter his adversaries, who according to the state press, are being increasingly more direct in its “reckless military confrontation” with the North.
Following talks about reinforcing North Korean front-line units and intensifying exercises to incorporate new strategies and weapons, Kim signed an order to implement unspecified “major military measures,” according to the North’s Central News Agency.
Kim stressed that the military must acquire “more powerful means of attack” to bolster its nuclear deterrent and make faster deployments of those weapons to combat units. In addition, he called for the munitions industry to step up mass production of various weapons and systems, and for the army to conduct “real war exercises” to assimilate those systems and improve its combat capability, the official Pyongyang news agency added.
Asked about Kim’s comments, South Korean Joint Chiefs of Staff spokesman Lee Sung Joon said during a press conference that US and South Korean intelligence authorities were closely monitoring the North’s weapons development activities and possible provocations, but offered no further details.
FOUNTAIN: Associated Press
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