North Korea rules out any rapprochement with the South

The North Korean end-of-year high mass is over. The plenary meeting of the central committee of the Workers’ Party of North Korea, in power in Pyongyang, ended on Saturday, December 30 after five days during which the strategic orientations of the country were decided, including that of launching three new spy satellites , which shows a growing desire to confront South Korea.

“The task of launching three additional reconnaissance satellites in 2024 has been declared” reports the official KCNA agency. After two successive failures in May and June, North Korea successfully put its first military observation satellite into orbit in November. The regime has since claimed it provided images of key US and South Korean military sites, but has not shown the images it says it has.

North Korea is barred by successive rounds of United Nations (UN) resolutions from conducting tests using ballistic technology, and analysts say there is significant technological overlap between space launch capabilities and the development of ballistic missiles.

South Korean intelligence services believe that Pyongyang received decisive technological help from Russia, where Kim Jong-un visited in September and met with President Vladimir Putin, to successfully put this satellite, the ” Malligyong-1.” Experts say putting an operational spy satellite into orbit would optimize North Korea’s quest for intelligence, particularly on its South rival, by gaining access to crucial data ahead of a military conflict.

” Worst ennemy “

During the party meeting, Kim Jong-un said the Korean Peninsula was in the grip of “a persistent and uncontrollable crisis situation”, whose fault, according to him, lies with the United States and South Korea. He therefore ordered a reshuffle of the administrations managing relations with the South in order to “fundamentally change direction”.

“I think it’s a mistake we should no longer make to view people who call us “the worst enemy” (…) as someone with whom to seek reconciliation and unification.”declared the North Korean leader, quoted by KCNA.

The two Koreas began a process of rapprochement in 2018, characterized by three meetings between Kim Jong-un and the South Korean president at the time, Moon Jae-in. But this rapprochement was shattered and tensions between the two enemies are currently at their height.

At the start of the party meeting, the North Korean leader had already called for “accelerate war preparations” of his country, including its nuclear weapons program, in the face of “confrontational maneuvers” of the United States and its allies.

Record number of attempts

North Korea conducted a record number of ballistic missile tests in 2023. It also engraved in its constitution its status as a nuclear power, and successfully tested the Hwasong-18, the most powerful intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) in its arsenal, capable of reaching the United States.

For their part, the United States, South Korea and Japan have intensified their military cooperation, activating a real-time data sharing system on North Korean missile launches and increasing joint military maneuvers in the region. The American armed forces have notably sent to South Korea in recent months the nuclear-powered submarine USS Missouri, the aircraft carrier USS Ronald Reagan and a B-52 strategic bomber, each time provoking the anger of North Korea .

Pyongyang sees the military maneuvers on its doorstep as a rehearsal for a future invasion of its territory, and has long viewed its missile tests as “countermeasures” required.