North Korea's Kim orders military to accelerate war preparations -state
media
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[December 28, 2023]
By Soo-hyang Choi
SEOUL (Reuters) -North Korea leader Kim Jong Un has ordered his
country's military, munitions industry and nuclear weapons sector to
accelerate war preparations to counter what he called unprecedented
confrontational moves by the U.S., state media said on Thursday.
Speaking on the policy directions for the new year at a key meeting of
the country's ruling party on Wednesday, Kim also said Pyongyang would
expand strategic cooperation with "anti-imperialist independent"
countries, news agency KCNA reported.
North Korea has been expanding ties with Russia, among others, as
Washington accuses Pyongyang of supplying military equipment to Moscow
for use in its war with Ukraine, while Russia provides technical support
to help the North advance its military capabilities.
"He (Kim) set forth the militant tasks for the People's Army and the
munitions industry, nuclear weapons and civil defense sectors to further
accelerate the war preparations," KCNA said.
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On Thursday, South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol visited a frontline
military unit in the eastern county of Yeoncheon to inspect its defense
posture and called for an immediate retaliation if there was any
provocation from North Korea.
"I urge you to immediately and firmly crush the enemy's will for a
provocation on the spot," Yoon told troops.
During the party plenum, North Korea's Kim also laid out economic goals
for the new year, calling it a "decisive year" to accomplish the
country's five-year development plan, KCNA said.
"He ... clarified the important tasks for the new year to be dynamically
pushed forward in the key industrial sectors," and called for
"stabilizing the agricultural production on a high level."
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![](../images/122823PIX/news_v41.jpg)
North Korea's leader Kim Jong Un speaks at the 5th National Meeting
of Mothers in Pyongyang in this picture released by the Korean
Central News Agency on December 5, 2023. KCNA via REUTERS/File Photo
![](http://archives.lincolndailynews.com/2023/Dec/28/images/ads/current/atlantabank_quarter_FFARM_2023.png)
The North has suffered serious food shortages in recent decades,
including famine in the 1990s, often as a result of natural
disasters. International experts have warned that border closures
during the COVID-19 pandemic worsened food security.
North Korea's crop output was estimated to have increased
year-on-year in 2023 due to favorable weather conditions. But a
Seoul official has said the amount was still far below what is
needed to address the country's chronic food shortages.
The 9th plenary meeting of the 8th central committee of the Workers'
Party of Korea kicked off on Tuesday to wrap up a year during which
the isolated North enshrined nuclear policy in its constitution,
launched a spy satellite and fired a new intercontinental ballistic
missile.
The days-long assembly of the party and government officials has
been used in recent years to make key policy announcements.
Previously, state media released Kim's speech on New Year's Day.
(Reporting by Soo-hyang Choi; Editing by Chris Reese, Jamie Freed
and Raju Gopalakrishnan)
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