SEOUL: North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has ordered his military, munitions industry and nuclear weapons sector to step up war preparations to counter America’s unprecedented confrontational steps, state media said on Thursday.
Speaking on 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 “independent anti-imperialist” countries, news agency KCNA reported.
“He (Kim) set counter-insurgency tasks for the People’s Army and the munitions industry, nuclear weapons and civil defense sectors to further step up war preparations,” KCNA said.
North Korea is expanding ties with Russia, as Washington accuses Pyongyang of supplying military equipment to Moscow for use in the war with Ukraine, while Russia helps the North advance its military capabilities. Provides technical support for.
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Kim also laid out economic goals for the new year during the meeting, calling it a “decisive year” for completing the country’s five-year development plan, the report said.
“He … clarified important tasks to dynamically advance key industrial sectors for the new year,” and called for “stabilizing agricultural output at a high level.”
The North has suffered severe food shortages in recent decades, including famine in the 1990s, often resulting from natural disasters. International experts have warned that border closures during the COVID-19 pandemic have worsened food security.
North Korea’s crop production is projected to increase year-on-year through 2023 due to favorable weather conditions. But a Seoul official said the amount was still far short of what was needed to address the country’s chronic food shortages.
The 9th Plenary Meeting of the 8th Central Committee of the Workers’ Party of Korea began Tuesday to mark one year since the isolated North enshrined nuclear policy in its constitution, launched a spy satellite and fired a new intercontinental ballistic missile. .
In recent years the day-long meeting of party and government officials has been used to make major policy announcements. Earlier, state media had released Kim’s speech on New Year’s Day.
