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https://theconversation.com/north-korea-ramps-up-military-rhetoric-as-kim-gives-up-on-reunification-with-south-213696>
"North Korea’s leader Kim Jong-un is continuing to ramp up his focus on nuclear
weapons and taking a more aggressive military stance towards his neighbour
South Korea.
In his 2023 year-end speech, in which he outlined his plans for 2024, Kim said
inter-Korean relations had become “a relationship between two hostile countries
and two belligerents at war”. For years Kim’s policy has been to attempt to
reunify the two countries, which were separated in 1953 after the end of the
Korean war. A tight military border has made it almost impossible for ordinary
people to pass in or out of North Korea.
The North Korean leader also announced a plan to launch three new military spy
satellites in 2024, highlighting the country’s continued focus on its space and
military programmes.
In the first few days of January, state sources released photographs of his
visit to a missile launcher factory, and Kim was reported as saying North Korea
needed to “prepare for war”.
In statements that showed Kim’s increasingly aggressive rhetoric, he is
reported as saying that he “judged the Republic of Korea clan to be our main
enemy” and North Korea must keep “continuously stockpiling unparalleled
overwhelming power”, due to growing hostilities with South Korea.
Kim’s new year’s plan was followed a few days later by North Korea firing
around 200 artillery shells towards Yeonpyeong island in South Korea. Over the
days that followed it fired more shells towards South Korea’s west coast.
During her new year’s greetings to South Korea, Kim’s sister, Kim Yo-jong, who
is seen as an increasingly powerful figure, issued a statement which appeared
to support the pursuit of further nuclear capabilities.
This has prompted renewed discussions among experts over the possibility of
North Korea conducting a seventh nuclear test. The last nuclear test that it
conducted was in 2017.
In 2022, North Korea revised its constitution to declare itself a nuclear
state, and in 2023 North Korea recorded a record number of nuclear weapons
tests, causing concern in South Korea and the US."
Cheers,
*** Xanni ***
--
mailto:xanni@xanadu.net Andrew Pam
http://xanadu.com.au/ Chief Scientist, Xanadu
https://glasswings.com.au/ Partner, Glass Wings
https://sericyb.com.au/ Manager, Serious Cybernetics
