North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has ordered the military to speed up preparations for war in response to what he calls unprecedented confrontational actions by the US, and at the ruling party meeting on Wednesday stressed the need for military, munitions and nuclear preparedness, on Thursday, the 28th of December, citing North Korea’s state news agency KCNA, reports Reuters.
Kim also told a party meeting that Pyongyang will expand strategic cooperation with “anti-imperialist independent” countries.
The US has accused North Korea of supplying military equipment to Russia for the war in Ukraine. In return, Russia offers North Korea technical support to help improve its military capabilities.
On Thursday, South Korean President Yun Suk Yol visited a frontline military unit in Yeoncheon to inspect its defence situation. He stressed the need for an immediate response to North Korean provocations, urging troops to swiftly crush the enemy in the event of any possible aggression.
At the party meeting the North Korean leader also outlined economic goals
for the new year, stressing that it would be a “crucial year” for achieving the country’s five-year development plan. Kim outlined key tasks for dynamic development in key industries urged to stabilise agricultural production at a high level.
The country has faced food shortages in recent decades, exacerbated by border closures during the Covid-19 pandemic. Although North Korea’s harvest increased in 2023 due to favourable weather conditions, it is still insufficient, Seoul officials say.
The 9th plenary session of the 8th Central Committee of the Workers’ Party of North Korea began on Tuesday, capping a year in which North Korea included a nuclear policy in its constitution, launched a spy satellite and tested a new intercontinental ballistic missile, writes Reuters.
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