Kim: No slowdown on defence

All prepared: File photo shows Kim and his daughter Ju-ae on a tank during a visit to Pyongyang Training Base No. 60 under the Capital City Defence Corps of the North Korean army. Kim says South Korea-US military activities underline the need to ‘strengthen a powerful and absolutely reliable deterrent for self-defence.’ — KCNA/AFP

Kim Jong-un vowed to beef up the country’s defence capabilities, citing military moder­nisation efforts by South Korea and the United States ­pushing the region “to the brink of a nuclear war”, state media reported.

Kim “in his concluding speech reaffirmed the steadfast policy stand of our Party and state to beef up the national defence capabilities faster,” the official Korean Central News Agency quoted the leader as saying yesterday.

The speech was delivered as Kim presided over a three-day meeting of the Workers’ Party of Korea that wrapped up on Monday, KCNA said.

It quoted Kim as saying “the US and the ROK are pushing forward with the ROK’s possession of a nuclear submarine while getting evermore undisguised in their moves towards the reinforcement and modernisation of armed for­ces in the region”, referring to South Korea by the acronym of its official name, the Republic of Korea.

According to KCNA, Kim said such moves were “pushing the situation in the Korean peninsula to the brink of a nuclear war”.

It also indicates Pyongyang’s intention to “use nuclear wea­pons as a standing diplomatic and strategic lever”, he added.

Kim’s sister, Yo-jong, said this month the North’s nuclear policy was a “line of no retreat”. — AFP