Kim Jong-un said Pyongyang would expand relations with "anti-imperialist countries" in response to aggression by the United States and its allies
North Korean leader Kim Jong-un said Pyongyang must step up preparations for war amid what he described as an "unprecedented" confrontation by the United States against North Korea, according to official reports.
Speaking at the year-end meeting of Pyongyang's ruling Workers' Party on Wednesday, Kim Jong-un called on various sectors, including nuclear, ammunition and civil defense, to "further accelerate preparations for war," according to the North Korean news agency.
"Kim Jong-un has put forward combat missions for the KPA and the arms industry, nuclear ** and civil defense sectors to further accelerate war readiness," the report added. ”
Kim Jong-un also warned that the "military situation" on the Korean Peninsula has become "extreme" due to the "unprecedented" confrontational actions of the United States and its regional allies. In response to these threats, Pyongyang will expand its strategic cooperation with "anti-imperialist independent" countries.
At last year's year-end meeting, Kim Jong-un said Pyongyang must "increase the country's nuclear arsenal" exponentially.
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."
In November, North Korea successfully launched its first military reconnaissance satellite, leading to the suspension of the 2018 Korean Peninsula military agreement, the Comprehensive Military Agreement. Under the terms of the agreement, the North and the South, which are still strictly at war, agreed to "completely cease all hostile acts against each other."
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".