PYONGYANG: North Korea’s leader Kim Jong Un has called for the strengthening of Pyongyang’s war deterrence in a “more practical and offensive” manner in a meeting with the country’s senior military officials to discuss preparations for conflict, according to state media.
The Central Military Commission of the Workers’ Party met on Monday amid heightened tensions following the biggest field drills between the militaries of United States and South Korea.
The meeting was held to discuss ongoing efforts to boost the country’s war deterrent to counter “the escalating moves of the US imperialists and the South Korean puppet traitors to unleash a war of aggression”, North Korea’s official Korean Central News Agency said.
Washington and Seoul have termed their exercises as defensive in nature and said that expanding the drills is imperative to cope with North Korea’s expanding nuclear and missile programmes.
Kim reviewed Pyongyang’s front-line attack plans as well as various combat documents and called for the need to bolster the country’s nuclear deterrent with “increasing speed on a more practical and offensive” manner, KCNA said.
Biggest US-S Korea field drills in years
The militaries of US and South Korea conducted their biggest field drills in years last month. The two also held joint naval and air force exercises involving nuclear-capable bombers and an American aircraft carrier strike group.
KCNA claimed the “frantic” drills simulated an “all-out war against” North Korea and signalled threats to occupy Pyongyang and decapitate its leadership.
North Korea has so far test-fired about 30 missiles in 11 different launch events in 2023, including intercontinental ballistic missiles capable of targetting the US mainland and several weapons of shorter-range designed to carry out nuclear strikes on South Korean targets.
