North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has called for “overwhelming” war readiness to cope with US-led confrontational moves and said that his country will launch three additional military spy satellites, build more nuclear weapons and introduce modern unmanned combat equipment in 2024, state media reported on Sunday (December 31). Kim’s remarks, made during a key Worker’s Party meeting to decide the goals for next year, is an indication of his plan to continue a run of weapons tests for the expansion of his arsenal amid long-dormant diplomacy with the United States.
According to the observers, Kim would finally hope to use his boosted nuclear capability to wrest greater outside concessions if there is a resumption of diplomacy.
What did Kim say?
During the five-day meeting that concluded on Saturday, Kim said that steps taken by the US and its followers against North Korea have been “unprecedented this year”, pushing the the Korean Peninsula to the brink of a nuclear war, news agency AP reported citing Korean Central News Agency.
“The grave situation requires us to accelerate works to acquire overwhelming war response capabilities and thorough and perfect military readiness to suppress any types of provocations by the enemies at a stroke,” AP quoted Kim as saying, citing KCNA.
Kim set forth plans to fire three more military spy satellites next year in addition to the country's first reconnaissance satellite launched in November.
He also ordered authorities to boost work to manufacture more nuclear weapons and develop various kinds of modern unmanned combat equipment such as armed drones.
Kim has been focused on modernizing his nuclear and missile arsenals since his high-stakes nuclear diplomacy with then-President Donald Trump broke down in 2019 due to wrangling over international sanctions on the North.
Since last year, Kim's military has test-fired more than 100 ballistic missiles, many of them nuclear-capable weapons targeting the mainland US and South Korea, in violation of UN bans.
(With AP inputs)
