Leader of North Korea, Kim Jong Un, has ordered his military to expand its combat exercises and reinforce war preparedness as he looks to escalate an already provocative run in weapons demonstrations in the face of deepening tensions with its neighbors and Washington.
State news agency reported that Kim presided over a meeting of the ruling Workers’ Party’s Central Military Commission and encouraged the armed forces to perform “ever-victorious feats” and display “matchless military strength” to open a new phase in development.
The meeting came amid signs that North Korea is planning a military parade that may be an occasion to showcase the latest hardware from its growing nuclear weapons and missile program that is stirring waves of concern for the United States and its allies in Asia.
The commission’s members, who represent Kim’s top military brass, deliberated on a series of tasks aimed at inducing “great change” in the military, including “constantly expanding and intensifying the operation and combat drills” and “more strictly perfecting the preparedness for war,” the agency disclosed.
The commission also discussed unspecified organizational changes to “fundamentally improve and strengthen” military affairs, and state media photos of the meeting showed a flag representing a possibly new department called the “missile general bureau.”
Kim’s comments from the military meeting are the latest warning from Pyongyang that it is preparing to intensify its military demonstrations following a record-breaking year in missile testing. The warnings are in part a response to the United States’ expanding military drills with South Korea, which the allies have said are aimed at countering the North’s evolving threat.
Last week, North Korea threatened to counter U.S. military moves with the “most overwhelming nuclear force” as it condemned U.S. plans to expand its joint exercise with South Korea and deploy more advanced military assets like bombers and aircraft carriers to the region.
North Korea fired more than 70 ballistic missiles in 2022, including potential nuclear-capable weapons designed to strike targets in South Korea or reach the U.S. mainland.
It also conducted a wave of launches it described as simulated nuclear attacks on South Korean and U.S. targets in response to the expanded U.S. military drills with South Korea, which had been downsized during the Trump administration.
Army To Mark 75th Anniversary
North Korea marks the 75th founding anniversary of the Korean People’s Army on Wednesday, February 8, 2023 and may celebrate with a parade in Pyongyang.
Lee Sung-jun who is the Spokesperson of South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff, divulged during a briefing that the South Korean military has detected a “significant increase in personnel and vehicles” in areas related to parade rehearsals, but declined to share a specific assessment on when the event would take place.
Lee said that the South Korean military was closely monitoring developments related to North Korea’s possible creation of a new military bureau related to missiles, but didn’t provide further details.
Some analysts say that the new department could possibly handle the development of nuclear warheads and ballistic systems.
During a major political conference in December, North Korea’s Kim called for an “exponential increase” of the country’s nuclear warheads, mass production of battlefield tactical nukes targeting South Korea and the development of more powerful intercontinental ballistic missiles that could reach the American homeland.
However, there are also signs that the costs of Kim’s growing nuclear ambitions are piling up. North Korean state media announced that the ruling Workers’ Party has scheduled a plenary meeting of its powerful Central Committee later this month to discuss the “urgent task” on improving agricultural production amid deepening economic isolation.
Some experts have said that the country’s food insecurity is likely at its worst state since the 1990s when a devastating famine killed hundreds of thousands of people.
Diplomacy between Washington and Pyongyang has been stalled since 2019, with the two sides remaining at odds over U.S.-led economic sanctions against the North and the North’s nuclear program.
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