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SEOUL, Dec. 1 (AP) – North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has called for a major political meeting before the end of the year, where he is expected to resolve growing tensions with Washington and Seoul over expanding nuclear and missile programs .
North Korean state media said on Thursday that Kim Jong-un presided over a meeting of the ruling Workers’ Party Politburo, where members reviewed the implementation of state policies for 2022 and decided to hold a larger plenary meeting of the party’s Central Committee in late December , the exact time is unknown.
In recent years, Kim Jong Un has used political meetings in late December or early January to review state affairs and reveal his most important goals in economic and foreign policy, as well as weapons development. The meetings are likely to replace the function of Kim Jong-yen’s New Year’s Day speech, which he has used for years to make major announcements but has not given a New Year’s Day speech since 2020.
At a meeting in the capital Pyongyang on Wednesday, Kim Jong-un insisted that North Korea had overcome “unprecedented difficulties” in internal and external environments this year to achieve progress in national development and enhance the country’s “prestige and honor,” KCNA said.
North Korea has ramped up missile tests this year to a record pace, exploiting divisions in the U.N. Security Council over Russia’s war on Ukraine to speed up weapons development and ramp up pressure on Washington and Seoul.
But Kim Jong Un has also been trying to improve a dysfunctional and heavily sanctioned economy that has been made worse by pandemic border closures in recent years, an issue he may also discuss at the year-end meeting.
State media coverage of Kim’s comments at Wednesday’s Politburo meeting did not include specifics on what was discussed at the party plenum. They also did not mention any critical remarks against Washington or Seoul.
Kim Jong-un described 2023 as a crucial year for achieving the goals set in the five-year plan drawn up at the ruling party congress in January 2021, where he vowed to revive the economy and face the U.S., KCNA said. – Leadership sanctions and pressure. During that summit, Kim Jong-un issued a long wish list of advanced weapons, including more powerful intercontinental ballistic missiles, hypersonic weapons, nuclear-powered submarines, spy satellites and tactical nuclear weapons.
Noting that 2023 is a “historic year” — marking the 75th anniversary of North Korea’s founding and the 70th anniversary of the end of the 1950-53 Korean War — Kim said the “decisive guarantee for the realization of the five-year plan” should be according to KCNA. , these plans will be carried out next year.
Dozens of North Korean missile tests this year have included multiple launches of an intercontinental ballistic missile capable of reaching the continental United States and an intermediate-range missile over Japan. North Korea also carried out a series of short-range launches it described as mock nuclear attacks on South Korean and U.S. targets as it reacted angrily to the expansion of joint military exercises by the allies, which it insists are rehearsals for a potential invasion.
North Korea has periodically conducted nuclear tests with threats of nuclear conflict with Washington and Seoul, conveying an escalated nuclear doctrine. Pyongyang’s rubber-stamp parliament passed a law in September authorizing pre-emptive nuclear strikes in a wide range of circumstances, including non-combat situations where it might consider its leadership threatened.
Experts say Kim’s brinkmanship is aimed at forcing the United States to accept the idea of North Korea as a nuclear power and to negotiate economic and security concessions from a position of strength. North Korea may soon up the ante with its first nuclear test since 2017, South Korean officials said.
Nuclear talks between Washington and Pyongyang have stalled since 2019 over disagreements over tough U.S.-led sanctions in return for North Korea gradually reducing its nuclear weapons and missile programs.
After North Korea conducted its latest ICBM test in November, Kim boasted that the country had acquired another “reliable and maximum-capacity” weapon to deter U.S. military threats.
Kim Jong Un used the test as an opportunity to reveal his daughter for the first time, as his military scientists pledged to expand the country’s nuclear forces to protect future generations. His daughter’s presence was seen as underscoring his previous pledge that he would never fully surrender his nuclear arsenal, which he clearly viewed as the strongest guarantee of his survival. (Associated Press)
(This is an unedited and auto-generated story from a Syndicated News feed, the content body may not have been modified or edited by LatestLY staff)
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