Seoul [South Korea]: North Korean leader Kim Jong-un has said that his country will strengthen its nuclear forces “without limits” against threats from the US, Japan and South Korea, Pyongyang state media has reported.
Addressing a conference of Battalion Commanders and Political Instructors of the Korean People’s Army (KPA) on Friday in Pyongyang, the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) reported that Kim called for military officials to focus on completing war preparations.
Earlier this month, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy confirmed the first combat engagement between North Korean troops and Ukrainian forces and said that some 11,000 North Korean soldiers were already in Russia’s Kursk region.
US Secretary of Defence Lloyd Austin has called the North’s presence in the war a “very serious” escalation that would have ramifications in Europe and Asia. Russia and North Korea have stepped up military cooperation since the beginning of the conflict between Moscow and Kiev in February 2022.
“We will strengthen our self-defence power, centred on nuclear forces, without limitation, not being content (with our current level) and ceaselessly,” Kim was cited as saying in his speech as reported by North state media, Yonhap said.
He described the military cooperation among South Korea, the US and Japan as a “critical” factor threatening peace and stability on the Korean Peninsula.
The North Korean leader also accused the US of transforming its alliance with South Korea into “a complete nuclear alliance” and hastily launching “an Asian version of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization” by strengthening military cooperation with Seoul and Tokyo.
“As a result, US-led military alliances have expanded into a larger scope to include Europe and the Asia-Pacific region, and the brunt of its invasion is now focusing on none other than our nation, the US’ most hostile enemy and the foe in its longest war,” Kim was cited as saying in the Yonhap report.
“Under the current subjective, objective circumstances, completing war preparations is the most urgent task that cannot be delayed by a single day,” he said according to KCNA.
The North Korean leader was also cited as saying, “US war merchants, sustaining wars by continuing their military assistance to Ukraine and Israel … are fuelling fears that the third World War could occur and escalating the situation to a more dangerous level.”
Kim’s remarks come even as leaders of South Korea, the US and Japan held a trilateral summit on the sidelines of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit in Peru in which they condemned North Korea’s deepening military cooperation with Russia.
This June, during Russian President Vladimir Putin’s visit to Pyongyang, Russia and North Korea signed a comprehensive strategic partnership treaty, which includes a provision for mutual assistance if either of them comes under attack.
The North’s leader called for military officials to focus on completing war preparations, stressing the need to bolster its nuclear forces to accomplish a mission to deter war and stage a pre-emptive attack in case of emergency.
Last week the North Korean state media reported that Kim has supervised testing of “suicide attack” drones and called for prompt full-scale mass production.
As per the KCNA, the “suicide attack drones” to be used within different striking ranges are to perform a mission to “precisely attack any enemy targets on the ground and at sea”
The tests involved the drones precisely hitting the targets after flying along various preset tactical routes, it added.
North Korea first disclosed a performance test of suicide attack drones in August, which was also overseen by Kim on-site.