Kim allegedly stated in a report at the conclusion of a crucial party gathering in Pyongyang that the nation must "overwhelmingly beef up the military muscle" in 2023 to confront what it perceives as US and South Korean aggression. This was reported by the KCNA.
Kim said that his nation will focus on "mass-producing of tactical nuclear weapons" and develop "another ICBM (intercontinental ballistic missile system) whose main mission is quick nuclear counterstrike," alleging that Washington and Seoul were attempting to "isolate and stifle" the North.
These goals make up the "main orientation" of the 2023 nuclear and defence policy, according to the paper.
As a result of North Korea breaking international sanctions by conducting monthly weapons tests, including the launch of its most sophisticated ICBM, military tensions on the Korean peninsula reached a peak in 2022.
Seoul's military said that North Korea launched an extremely uncommon late-night launch at 2:50 am (1750 GMT Saturday) after conducting three short-range ballistic missile launches early on Saturday, rounding off a record-breaking year of launches. The launches were described as “a test-fire of the super-large multiple rocket launchers” by the official KCNA news agency on Sunday.
Kim said the weapons could target “the whole of South Korea within the range of strike” and “carry (a) tactical nuclear warhead” in a second KCNA article.
Professor at Seoul’s University of North Korean Studies, Yang Moo-jin, noted that Pyongyang was stressing “the possibility of actual action.”
“North Korea is signalling a tactical shift of indirectly pressuring the United States by pressuring South Korea and escalating tensions on the Korean peninsula starting this year.”
The South Korean Ministry of Defense has condemned the recent threats from North Korea as “provocative rhetoric that seriously damages the peace and stability on the Korean peninsula” and has demanded that Pyongyang quickly abandon its nuclear programmes.
The ministry further warned that “the Kim Jong Un regime will face an end” if North Korea use nuclear weapons.
The launches came after five North Korean drones infiltrated South Korean airspace on Monday, prompting Seoul to fire air defences.
Professor at Kyungnam University Lim Eul-Chul said the North’s recent declaration showed “they are preparing for the possibility of actual war beyond the collapse of inter-Korean relations.”
Tensions between the two Koreas, he said, would reach “an unprecedented level” in 2023 if the United States and South Korea responded by increasing military drills, as was sure to happen.
If the situation is handled poorly, “it would indeed be a reasonable prediction that the Korean peninsula could become a second Ukraine,” he said.
Having declared North Korea an “irreversible nuclear state” in 2022, Kim said he hoped his country would one day have the most potent nuclear force in the world.
According to Go Myong-Hyun, a researcher at the Asan Institute for Policy Studies, North Korea has previously discussed the possibility of mass-producing nuclear weapons.
The goal, he told AFP, “is that the United States will have no choice but to someday recognise North Korea as nuclear weapons, even without aggressive provocations.”
The announcements followed a high-level party gathering in Pyongyang when Kim and other leaders detailed plans to advance the country’s diplomatic, security, and economic interests by 2023.
Kim used to give a speech every January 1st, but he’s since abandoned that practice in favour of a year-end plenary gathering.
KCNA also reported that Pyongyang had plans to launch its first military satellite “at the earliest date possible,” a goal South Korea is also pursuing after successfully testing a solid-fuel space launch vehicle on Friday.
Professor at Seoul’s Ewha University Leif-Eric Easley commented, “North Korea ended the year with a bang, but its recent missile launches were not technically impressive.”
And yet, “provocations, including drone incursions, are excessive for deterrence and may be intended to scare South Korea into taking a softer policy,” as the New York Times put it.
Since Kim has rejected negotiations and threatened to develop nuclear weapons in large quantities, he predicts South Korea would increase its defence capabilities and preparedness.
In 2023, China will need to do more to control Pyongyang to prevent an inter-Korean arms race from occurring on its doorstep and causing regional instability.