Kim Jong Un wants to strengthen the country’s military “defense capacity”

The lifting of the South Korean military’s vigilance is not expected so soon, especially after North Korean leader Kim Jong-un on Wednesday “set new key targets for capacity building of self-defence, which will be implemented in 2023”. The new military targets, reported by the state news agency KCNA, were presented to officials of the ruling Workers’ Party, hinting that weapons tests would continue to be carried out next year.

The northern leader is currently chairing a major annual Party meeting in the capital Pyongyang, where he and other senior party leaders outline their political goals for 2023 in key areas such as diplomacy, security and government. economy.

2022, a year with a record series of weapons tests

In his report, Kim Jong-un “analyzed and assessed the difficult new situation that has arisen on the Korean peninsula,” KCNA said, in an apparent reference to the recent escalation of tensions between the two Koreas. The leader emphasized “the direction of the fight against the enemy that our party should adhere to”, KCNA added.

Nuclear-powered North Korea conducted a record slew of weapons tests this year, including intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) launches, continuing to defy United Nations sanctions.

On Monday, the South Korean army also announced that it had deployed fighter jets and helicopter gunships after the incursion into its territory of five North Korean drones, one of which had reached the airspace near Seoul. .

While Kim Jong-un focused on the national economy at the 2021 Workers’ Party plenary meeting, analysts widely expect a shift in tone to emphasize the military realm this year.

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