North Korea vowed to launch three new spy satellites, build military drones, and increase its nuclear arsenal by 2024 as leader Kim Jong Un said US policy made war inevitable, state media reported on Sunday.
Kim lashed out at Washington in a lengthy statement ending five days of ruling party meetings that set economic, military and foreign policy goals for the coming year.
“Due to the reckless actions of the enemy to attack us, it is a fact that war can break out at any time on the Korean peninsula,” he said, according to state news agency KCNA.
He ordered the military to prepare to “pacify the entire region of South Korea,” including with nuclear bombs if necessary, in response to any attack.
Kim’s remarks came ahead of a year that will see key elections in South Korea and the United States.
Kim Jong Un (C) participates in the 9th Plenary Session of the 8th Central Committee of the Workers’ Party of Korea (WPK) at the party’s Central Committee headquarters building in Pyongyang on Dec 31, 2023. KCNA VIA KNS/AFP via Getty Images
Experts predict North Korea will maintain a campaign of military pressure to leverage around the US presidential election in November, which could see the return of former President Donald Trump, who traded in both threats and historic diplomacy with Kim.
“Pyongyang may be waiting for the US presidential election to see what provocations it can buy with the next administration,” said Leif-Eric Easley, professor of international studies at Ewha Womans University in Seoul.
US President Joe Biden’s administration said it was open to talks, but it imposed new sanctions as North Korea pressed ahead with more missile tests banned under United Nations sanctions.
An intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) of the “Hwasongpho-18” type on a mobile launcher at an undisclosed location in North Korea. KCNA VIA KNS/AFP via Getty Images
The US is also increasing training and deploying more military assets, including nuclear-armed submarines and large aircraft carriers, near the Korean peninsula.
PRESSING FORWARD
Kim said the return of such weapons had completely transformed South Korea into a “forward military base and nuclear weapon” of the United States.
“If we look closely at the confrontational military actions by enemy forces… the word ‘war’ has become a realistic reality and not an abstract concept,” Kim said.
Kim said he had no choice but to pursue his nuclear ambitions and forge deeper ties with other countries opposed to the United States.
North Korea has deep ties with both China and Russia.
“North Korea is preparing for rising tensions with Washington and Seoul, at least a year or more, and its hardline policy may be accompanied by efforts for dialogue as well as ahead of the US election,” Yang Uk, an analyst at the Asan Institute for Policy Studies said. .
A mobile launcher awaits instructions to launch the Hwasongpho-18 intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) at an undisclosed location in North Korea. KCNA VIA KNS/AFP via Getty Images
“Kim is building on the success of spy satellites to do three more because he knows satellite capabilities are powerful targeting tools for better nuclear command and control.”
South Korea holds parliamentary elections in April that could impact the domestic and foreign agenda for conservative President Yoon Suk Yeol, who has maintained a hawkish stance toward Pyongyang.
South Korea’s National Intelligence Service (NIS) warned on Thursday that “there is a high possibility that North Korea could inadvertently carry out a military provocation or launch a cyber attack in 2024, when a volatile political situation is expected with elections.”
Kim Jong Un takes Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu on tour inside his military complex to display a large number of drones in Pyongyang, North Korea, on July 27, 2023. EyePress News/Shutterstock
Pyongyang has now rejected the possibility of unification with South Korea, and the country must fundamentally change its principles and direction towards South Korea, Kim said.
“The North-South relationship is no longer a kinship or homogenous relationship but has become a relationship between two hostile countries, two warring parties,” he said while calling the South a colonized country completely dependent on the United States for national defense and security. .
Kim also promised to develop the economy, including the metal, chemical, power, machinery, and railway sectors, while modernizing wheat facilities to increase production.
One key policy goal is to invest in science and technology research in schools, he said.
The rocket carrying the reconnaissance satellite ‘Malligyong-1’ was launched from the Sohae Satellite Launch Site in North Phyongan province. KCNA VIA KNS/AFP via Getty Images
MILITARY TECHNOLOGY
Last year, North Korea said it successfully launched its first military spy satellite and tested a new solid-fuel intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM), seen as having the range to deliver a nuclear warhead anywhere in the United States.
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A new reactor at North Korea’s Yongbyon nuclear complex appears to be operating for the first time, the UN nuclear watchdog and independent experts said this month, meaning a potential additional source of plutonium for nuclear weapons.
North Korea has not tested a nuclear weapon since 2017 but in recent years has taken steps to resume operations at its test sites.
Kim said 2024 will see further military developments, including strengthening nuclear and missile forces, building unmanned drones, expanding the submarine fleet and developing electronic warfare capabilities.
The fleet of spy satellites would represent the first such capability for the North.
The successful launch in November was preceded by two failed attempts last year when its new Chollima-1 rocket crashed into the sea.
The move raised regional tensions and triggered new sanctions from the US, Australia, Japan and South Korea.
Pyongyang has yet to release any imagery from the new satellite, leaving analysts and foreign governments to debate its capabilities.
The apparent success also comes after Russian President Vladimir Putin promised to help North Korea build satellites.
South Korean officials said Russian help may have made the difference in the success of the mission, although experts said it was unclear how much help Moscow could provide.
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Source: thtrangdai.edu.vn/en/
