At a summit on Sunday, North Korean dictator Kim Jong Un reportedly ordered his military leaders to gather the strongest weapons possible to destroy both South Korea and the United States if either nation decides to declare war.
On the Korean peninsula, an armed conflict is rapidly approaching, and Kim forewarned the authorities of its potential consequences.
North Korea would need to “sharpen the sword” to defend itself, and he laid the responsibility on actions taken by the United States and its allies.
According to the Korean Central News Agency, Kim stated, “We must mobilize all the most powerful means…to deal a crushing blow and destroy them if they chose military confrontation and set the fire” (KCNA).
According to KCNA, the dictator honored and congratulated his senior military officers on their achievements in 2023 at the governing Workers’ Party headquarters.
Kim also went to a late-night concert in honor of the new year, according to KCNA. On Saturday, state media announced that Kim planned to create more nuclear materials and launch three more military satellites in 2024 as part of his New Year’s resolution.
“Overwhelming war response capability” is North Korea’s ultimate goal, according to Kim. North Korea has made significant efforts in the last 12 months to strengthen ties with the People’s Republic of China and Russia, two of its regional allies.
Kim has maintained correspondence with Russian President Vladimir Putin and Chinese President Xi Jinping; the latter was personally visited by the supreme leader during a rare train journey outside the nation.
For a multi-day plenary meeting last week, the Central Committee of the North Korean Workers’ Party convened in Pyongyang to discuss policies for the upcoming year.
Although it has long been customary for North Korea’s supreme leader to address the nation on New Year’s Day, since 2020, Kim has given the annual summary speech during Workers’ Party sessions.
Ballistic missile launches into the waters surrounding Japan and threats of retribution against US military drills are only two examples of North Korea’s increased hostility throughout 2023.
Reuters and Anders Hagstrom of Fox News supported this story.