SEOUL, Jan 1 (Reuters) – North Korean leader Kim Jong Un called for developing new intercontinental ballistic missiles and a larger nuclear arsenal to counter U.S.-led threats, state media said on Sunday, amid flaring tension between the rival Koreas.
At a meeting of the ruling Workers’ Party, Kim highlighted the need to secure “overwhelming military power” to defend its sovereignty and security.
The meeting came amid cross-border tensions over last week’s intrusion by North Korean drones into the South, and the North’s series of missile launches, including intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBMs).
South Korea’s 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. “The current situation calls for greater efforts to make our military forces overwhelmingly flexible in response to feared military actions by the United States and other adversaries,” he said.
South Korea’s commitment to a “blind and dangerous military build-up” and hostile military actions has made it “an undisputed enemy,” Kim said.
“It emphasizes the importance and need for mass production of tactical nuclear weapons and calls for an exponential increase in the nation’s nuclear arsenal,” Kim said, adding that this is part of the 2023 Nuclear and Defense Strategy “ “It will be a major direction,” he added.
As part of the plan, the country will also launch its first military satellite “as soon as possible” and accelerate efforts to build a spy satellite, with preparations in the final stages, he said. “Super Large Rocket Launcher”
The report comes hours after North Korea launched a short-range ballistic missile from its east coast in a rare nighttime weapons test on New Year’s Day.
North Korean leader Kim Jong-un attended the 12th meeting of the Political Bureau of the 8th Central Committee of the Workers’ Party of Korea in Pyongyang.
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un attends the 8th session of the Central Committee of the Workers’ Party of Korea (WPK) in Pyongyang, North Korea, in this photo released by North Korea’s Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) on December 31, 2022. I am attending the 12th Politburo Meeting of the Council.
The isolated country also launched three ballistic missiles on Saturday, capping a year marked by a record number of missile tests.
In a separate release, KCNA said it was testing a new he-600mm super-large multi-rocket launcher capable of carrying nuclear weapons.
Kim praised the munitions industry for supplying him with 30 units of the system, calling it a “nuclear strike weapon” with the ability to deliver surprise and accurate fire, with all of South Korea within reach. called. “I have declared my determination to respond to nuclear weapons with nuclear weapons and to respond to total confrontation with total confrontation,” Kim Jong-un said at the handover ceremony on Saturday. He ordered more powerful weapons in order to “completely contain the forces of war and power.”
