casino blackjack

North Korea to launch new satellites, build drones as it warns war inevitable

字号+作者:site de apostas 1xbet来源:adler casino2024-03-29 02:06:20我要评论(0)

North Korea to launch new satellites, build drones as it warns war inevitableLeader Kim Jong-un slam

North Korea to launch new satellites, build drones as it warns war inevitable

  • Leader Kim Jong-un slams US policy for making war a ‘realistic reality’ and says he has ordered the military to prepare to ‘pacify the entire territory of South Korea’
  • Kim’s speech comes ahead of a year that will see pivotal elections in both South Korea and the US, as he also rules out the possibility of unifying with the South
North Korea
Reuters
ReutersWhy you can trust SCMP

North Korea vowed to launch three new spy satellites, build military drones, and boost its nuclear arsenal in 2024 as leader Kim Jong-un said US policy was making war inevitable, state media reported on Sunday.

Kim lashed out at Washington in lengthy remarks wrapping up five days of ruling party meetings that set economic, military and foreign policy goals for the coming year.

“Because of reckless moves by the enemies to invade us, it is a fait accompli that a war can break out at any time on the Korean peninsula,” he said, according to state news agency KCNA.

He ordered the military to prepare to “pacify the entire territory of South Korea”, including with nuclear bombs if necessary, in response to any attack.

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un delivers a speech during a year-end plenary meeting of the ruling Workers’ Party held between December 26 and December 30 in Pyongyang, North Korea. Photo: Korean Central News Agency/Korea News Service via AP

Kim’s speech comes ahead of a year that will see pivotal elections in both South Korea and the United States.

Experts predict North Korea will maintain a campaign of military pressure to try to increase any leverage around the US presidential elections in November, which could see the return of former President Donald Trump, who traded in both threats and historic diplomacy with Kim.

“Pyongyang might be waiting out the US presidential election to see what its provocations can buy it with the next administration,” said Leif-Eric Easley, professor of international studies at Ewha Womans University in Seoul.

The administration of US President Joe Biden says it is open to talks, but it imposed new sanctions as North Korea pushed ahead with more banned missile tests. The US also increased drills and deployed more military assets, such as nuclear-armed submarines and large aircraft carriers, near the Korean peninsula.

Kim said he could not overlook the return of such weapons, which he said had completely transformed South Korea into a “forward military base and nuclear arsenal” of the US.

“If we look closely at the confrontational military actions by the enemy forces … the word ‘war’ has become a realistic reality and not an abstract concept,” Kim said.

02:12

Kim Jong-un vows to accelerate war preparations, while the South holds rare defence drills

Kim Jong-un vows to accelerate war preparations, while the South holds rare defence drills

Kim said he had no choice but to press forward with his nuclear ambitions and forge deeper relations with other countries that oppose the US. North Korea has deep ties with both China and Russia.

South Koreans will also go to the polls in April for a parliamentary election that could affect the domestic and foreign agenda for conservative President Yoon Suk-yeol, who has maintained a hawkish stance toward Pyongyang.

South Korea’s National Intelligence Service (NIS) warned on Thursday that “there is a high possibility that North Korea could unexpectedly conduct military provocations or stage a cyberattack in 2024, when fluid political situations are expected with the elections”.

Pyongyang has now ruled out the possibility of unifying with South Korea, and the country must fundamentally change its principle and direction towards South Korea, according to Kim.

“North-South relations are no longer a kinship or homogeneous relationship but have completely become a relationship between two hostile countries, two belligerents at war,” he said, calling the South a colonised state completely dependent on the US for national defence and security.

South Korea on alert for clashes, nuclear test as Kim threatens ‘major ripple’

Kim also promised to nurture the economy including metals, chemicals, power, machinery and railway transportations while modernising wheat facilities to boost production.

One key policy goal is to invest in science and technological research at schools, he said.

In the past year, North Korea says it successfully launched its first military spy satellite and test fired new solid-fuel intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBMs) seen as having the range to deliver a nuclear warhead to anywhere in the US.

A new reactor at North Korea’s Yongbyon nuclear complex appeared to be operating for the first time, the UN nuclear watchdog and independent experts said this month, which would mean an additional potential source of plutonium for nuclear weapons.

North Korea has not tested a nuclear weapon since 2017, but in recent years has taken steps to resume operations at its testing site.

03:51

North Korea reportedly photographs White House and Pentagon with spy satellite

North Korea reportedly photographs White House and Pentagon with spy satellite

Kim said 2024 would see further military development, including strengthening the nuclear and missile forces, building unmanned drones, expanding the submarine fleet and developing electronic warfare capabilities.

The fleet of spy satellites would represent the first such capability for the North.

That successful launch was preceded by two failed attempts last year when its new Chollima-1 rocket crashed into the sea.

The move raised regional tensions and sparked fresh sanctions from the US, Australia, Japan and South Korea. Pyongyang has yet to release any imagery from the new satellite, leaving analysts and foreign governments to debate its capabilities.

The apparent success also came after Russian President Vladimir Putin promised to help North Korea build satellites. South Korean officials said Russian aid likely made a difference in the success of the mission, though experts said it was unclear how much help Moscow could have provided.

相关文章
  • USDA: Vendas da safra 23/24 de trigo dos Estados Unidos totalizam 378,4 mil...

    USDA: Vendas da safra 23/24 de trigo dos Estados Unidos totalizam 378,4 mil...

    2024-03-29 02:06

  • Shocking pics show stolen Toyota stripped by 'car cannibals'

    Shocking pics show stolen Toyota stripped by 'car cannibals'

    2024-03-29 01:16

  • Does pet insurance cover surgery?

    Does pet insurance cover surgery?

    2024-03-29 00:37

  • Agro e Prosa Episódio 661

    Agro e Prosa Episódio 661

    2024-03-29 00:10

网友点评