NKorea's Kim Wants Military to 'Accelerate' War Preparations

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Facts

• North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has called on the country's ruling party to step up war readiness, including the nuclear program, to counter what he described as US-led confrontational moves, state media said on Thursday.¹
• In a speech at a key political meeting of his ruling Workers' Party, Kim urged to 'further accelerate the war preparations' in the country's defense industry, nuclear weapons, and civil defense sectors. North Korea's supreme leader also referred to future relations with South Korea, the Korean Central News Agency reported, without giving further details.²
• The 'military situation' on the Korean peninsula reached an 'extreme' level following 'unprecedented' US-led confrontational actions against the North, Kim claimed. He also added that Pyongyang would deepen strategic relations with 'anti-imperialist independent' nations.³
• Kim's comments come as South Korean Defense Minister Shin Won-sik reportedly said on Tuesday that the South Korean military should 'brutally bury them at sea' should the North launch what he called 'another provocative action.' Shin Won-sik was inspecting a new warship as South Korea seeks to renew its aging fleet.⁴
• Meanwhile, South Korea's National Intelligence Service (NIS) claimed on Thursday that Pyongyang is likely to launch military provocations or a cyberattack ahead of South Korea's parliamentary elections in April and the US presidential election in November. Last week, Kim reportedly vowed that Pyongyang would not hesitate to use nuclear weapons in the event of a nuclear provocation.⁵
• The US and South Korea recently held the second meeting of their Nuclear Consultative Group to explore nuclear deterrence options against Pyongyang, warning that any nuclear attack on either country would end Kim's regime. This year, Pyongyang launched a reconnaissance satellite and tested its most advanced intercontinental ballistic missile.⁶

Sources: ¹reuters.com, ²Dw.Com, ³Al Jazeera, ⁴Express.co.uk, ⁵Yonhap News Agency and ⁶France 24.

Narratives

• Pro-establishment narrative, as provided by Newsweek. Kim's announcement to accelerate North Korea's war readiness, including its nuclear program, in addition to the North's recent string of missile tests in violation of UN resolutions, underscores the need for deepened US-Japan-South Korean military cooperation. Pyongyang's constant saber-rattling not only jeopardizes South Korea's national security but also directly threatens the US through its recent tests of intercontinental ballistic missiles capable of reaching US soil. The US will continue to increase pressure on the Kim regime and is keeping all military options, including nuclear, open to defend its allies.
• Establishment-critical narrative, as provided by PressTV. It's not North Korea that poses a threat to regional peace and stability, but the USA and its vassals, above all South Korea. To maintain its hegemonic claims, Washington is risking a nuclear war through its increasing provocations and, most recently, by sending a nuclear-capable bomber to the region. Pyongyang has every right to counter these provocations by expanding its own defensive military capabilities and further developing its nuclear deterrent potential. The North will not be intimidated and will protect its sovereignty and territorial integrity by all means.
• Narrative C, as provided by South China Morning Post. While Kim wishes to deepen cooperation with Russia and China, Beijing is reluctant to expand bilateral military cooperation. Pyongyang is indeed expanding its military ties with Moscow, but China is seeking to establish itself as a regional stabilizing factor, as illustrated by the recent meeting between China, Japan, and South Korea, as well as the recent rapprochement between China and the US. Also for economic reasons, Beijing is keen not to appear as a promoter of a trilateral axis with Russia and North Korea to avoid a new cold war, from which the US might ultimately benefit.

Predictions