North Korean leader Kim Jong-un ordered the armed forces to expand combat exercises and strengthen preparations for war, Pyongyang’s official news agency reported Tuesday.
According to KCNA, Kim presided over a meeting of the Central Military Commission of the Workers’ Party on Monday and encouraged the armed forces to deliver “always victorious performance” and show “unparalleled military strength” to mark a new stage in the country’s development. to ring in. .
Kim’s presence at the meeting marked the North Korean leader’s return to public activities after a hiatus of about 40 days.
Commissioners, North Korea’s top military officials, discussed “major changes” in the armed forces, including “continued expansion and intensification of operation and combat exercises” and “more rigorously perfecting war preparedness,” he said.
The committee also discussed organizational changes to “fundamentally improve and strengthen military affairs”, with photos from the meeting showing the flag of a new “general missile division”.
Lee Sung-jun, spokesman for South Korea’s joint chiefs of staff, told a news conference Tuesday that Seoul is closely monitoring the North’s possible creation of a new missile-related military department.
North Korea has launched about 70 ballistic missiles in 2022, including eight intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBM) and three cruise missiles, according to data released by South Korea’s Yonhap news agency on New Year’s Eve.
Lee Sung-jun said the South Korean military had detected a “significant increase in personnel and vehicles” in parts of the capital, Pyongyang, in connection with rehearsals for a parade marking the 75th anniversary of the establishment of the North Korean military. army. Wednesday.
The Pyongyang regime has scheduled a major political meeting before the end of the month to discuss the “urgent task” of improving the agricultural sector, a sign of potentially worsening food insecurity due to the country’s economic isolation.
It is rare for North Korea to convene a plenary session on a single topic, in this case agriculture, South Korea’s Unification Ministry spokesman Koo Byoungsam said at a news conference Monday.
“The government will closely monitor the food situation and internal trends in North Korea,” Koo said, adding that South Korea estimates that North Korean food production will fall by about 4% to 4.5 million tons by 2022.
The emergence of the Covid-19 pandemic has dealt another blow to North Korea’s already weak economy, forcing the country to protect its health system with strict border controls that restrict trade with China, the country’s main economic ally. , have choked. North Korea was also hit by devastating typhoons and floods in 2020, decimating crops.
Source: DN
