Kim presided over the party meeting, at which a report analyzing conditions on the Korean peninsula was presented.
North Korea hinted at a resumption of its nuclear and intercontinental missile program on Thursday at a major meeting led by Kim Jong Un, at which the regime said it was preparing for a “long-term confrontation” with the United States.
Despite international sanctions against its weapons development, Pyongyang has conducted a series of missile tests this year, including hypersonic missiles, in line with Kim’s pledge to further strengthen its military capabilities.
The impoverished and isolated country has not responded to US proposals for dialogue and, in response to new sanctions, has redoubled its tests and promised a “strong and firm” response against anyone who tries to undermine these programs.
In this context, the political bureau of the ruling Workers’ Party Central Committee “ordered the relevant sector… to quickly consider the issue of resuming” all temporarily suspended activities, the KCNA agency reported from Seoul, referring to the Pyongyang’s nuclear and long-range missile programs.
“The US’s hostile policy and military threat have reached a danger line that can no longer be ignored,” the KCNA added.
Kim presided over the party meeting, at which a report was released analyzing conditions on the Korean peninsula and addressing “the direction of countermeasures against the United States for the future.”
This shift comes at a delicate time for the region, with China, North Korea’s only ally, poised to host the Winter Olympics in Beijing and South Korea preparing for presidential elections in March.
The North Korean leader had decreed a moratorium on nuclear and intercontinental missile tests in 2018, but threatened to lift it after negotiations with then-President Donald Trump failed in 2019.
The country has reactivated its weapons program, with several tests in September and another four so far in 2022 that include launches of hypersonic missiles.
As the regime rejects offers of dialogue launched by the new Joe Biden administration, Kim last month reaffirmed his commitment to military modernization in a major speech to his party.
The proliferation of weapons tests led the United States to impose new sanctions on the Asian country, but Pyongyang responded by claiming its “legitimate right” to defend itself and with new tests.
The rhetoric coming from the isolated communist country is also more aggressive. “The United States slandered our state and committed the foolish act of taking around 20 punitive measures,” the official KCNA agency said.
The agency also noted that the political bureau unanimously agreed to carry out “more thorough preparation for a long-term confrontation with the US imperialists” as well as “increase our physical strength for defense.”
Earlier in the week, the United States urged Pyongyang to “cease its destabilizing and illegal activities” and return to the dialogue table without preconditioning. (I)
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