North Korea's supreme leader, Kim Jong-un, has instructed the North Korean army to "strike" the United States and South Korea "without hesitation" if they choose the path of confrontation and provoke a conflict on the Korean Peninsula, KCNA reported.
Washington, Seoul and Tokyo have increased military exercises in the past few months after Pyongyang conducted a series of tests this year. In early December, the United States deployed a nuclear-powered submarine to the South Korean port city of Busan, and conducted long-range bomber exercises with Tokyo and Seoul.
Pyongyang described such joint military exercises as "a deliberate provocation by the United States for nuclear war."
According to the official ** report, the Workers' Party of Korea issued a solemn statement that if the puppet regimes of the United States and South Korea stubbornly attempt to enter into a military confrontation with the Democratic People's Republic of Korea, the deterrence of nuclear war in the DPRK will not hesitate to turn into serious action, and finally put forward the important task of the foreign affairs departments, that is, to make forward-looking preparations to keep up with the powerful military operation of the Korean People's Army to conquer the entire southern territory.
KCNA quoted Kim Jong Un as saying in a speech at the 9th Enlarged Plenary Session of the 8th ** Committee of the Workers' Party of Korea that "war may break out at any time on the Korean Peninsula as a result of the enemy's reckless invasion of the DPRK, which becomes the basis of a fait accompli."
After a detailed analysis of the dangerous security situation on the Korean Peninsula and the military actions of the United States and other hostile forces, Kim Jong-un stressed the need to "further accelerate the fundamental development of defense capabilities" in order to protect the security and peace of the country.
The North Korean leader added that Washington's "entrenched hostilities" against Pyongyang "have clearly evolved into a phase of conflict that can lead to actual military action, which can provoke a clash between the armed forces of both sides." He also said that South Korea's Yoon Suk-yeol "is making a suicidal attempt to achieve a 'balance of power' with North Korea" and "confronting North Korea to the end by expanding its 'Joint Command'." According to the report, the group was included in a multinational war organization for provoking the Second Korean War.
Kim Jong Un reiterated the need to "steadily intensify efforts to achieve an overwhelming war response capability and comprehensive and perfect military combat readiness to deter any form of provocation and surprise action as the enemy's desperate efforts become more serious," saying that the military "should pay close attention to and keenly control the rapidly changing and severe security situation on the Korean Peninsula, take more thorough military measures, and resolutely maintain a prompt response to any possible nuclear crisis, and continue to push forward" Prepare to use all military means and forces, including nuclear forces, to suppress the entire territory of South Korea in an emergency. ”
The North Korean leader expressed confidence that "the word 'war' has approached us as a real entity rather than an abstract concept" and that 2024 will be an era of heightened combat readiness and that Pyongyang will make greater progress in building the Democratic People's Republic of Korea. Develop a more powerful military.
This year, Pyongyang also enshrined its nuclear statehood in its constitution and tested state-of-the-art intercontinental ballistic missiles.
In addition to detailing North Korea's military and defense objectives, Kim Jong-un also outlined Pyongyang's economic and agricultural objectives. He said this year is a "decisive year" for the country's five-year development plan, and called for "stabilizing the high level of agricultural production".