North Korean leader Kim Jong-un has called for a major expansion of the country’s nuclear arsenal, urging officials to strengthen defence capabilities “with a goal of overtaking the world,” according to state media reports released Tuesday.The comments came during a three-day plenary meeting of the ruling Workers’ Party of Korea (WPK), which began on Saturday.The meeting reviewed the North Korea’s progress in the first half of the year and assessed plans outlined at a key party congress held in February.
According to the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA), the meeting reaffirmed North Korea’s commitment to expanding its nuclear forces, describing them as “the core of the military sovereignty” of the nation and “the pivot of implementing the strategy for deterring or fighting a war.”The report said party officials unanimously agreed that “to thoroughly exercise the position of a nuclear weapons state is the most correct and unique way to actively and confidently cope with the unpredictable international military and political situation getting complicated in multiple ways.”“With the nuclear technology as a basis, more extensive, innovative and encouraging plans would be carried out with increasing speed,” the report said, adding that Kim “set forth tasks to dynamically carry out the work to increase powerful defense assets without pause in our own way and with a goal of overtaking the world.”The meeting also pledged to speed up construction of a 10,000-ton-class strategic guided missile cruiser, a project approved by the party earlier this year.Pyongyang repeated its hardline stance toward South Korea, calling it the country’s most hostile state. It also criticized the military alliance between Seoul and Washington, including the Nuclear Consultative Group (NCG), which it described as “a nuclear war body whose purpose is to attack” North Korea. The report claimed the group “drew detailed nuclear war scenarios, including war mode, sequence of missions, drills and operation element.“Kim also called for stronger defenses along “the southern border” and the construction of new naval bases and military infrastructure.The meeting featured a major leadership reshuffle, with Jo Yong-won elected secretary of the party’s central committee, restoring him to one of the most influential positions in North Korea. Meanwhile, senior official Kim Jae-ryong was removed from several top party posts. State media did not explain the reasons for the changes.Economic issues were also discussed, with the party highlighting coal as a key sector for future growth. Kim said ending the “centuries-old backwardness” of the coal industry was “a strategic issue of weighty significance” for both the current five-year plan and the country’s long-term development goals.The plenary session concluded by reaffirming the party’s commitment to implementing Kim’s agenda and modernizing key industries to support economic growth.
