North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has ordered his military to expand its combat exercises and strengthen war preparedness as he looks to escalate an already provocative run in weapons demonstrations in the face of deepening tensions with its neighbors and Washington.
Kim presided over a meeting of the ruling Workers' Party's Central Military Commission on Monday and encouraged the armed forces to perform "ever-victorious feats" and display "matchless military strength" to open a new phase in development, the country's official Korean Central News Agency reported Tuesday.
The commission also discussed unspecified organizational changes to "fundamentally improve and strengthen" military affairs, and state media photos of the meeting showed a flag representing a possibly new department called the "missile general bureau." Lee said the South Korean military was closely monitoring developments related to North Korea's possible creation of a new military bureau related to missiles, but didn't provide further details. Some analysts say that the new department could possibly handle the development of nuclear warheads and ballistic systems.
North Korea fired more than 70 ballistic missiles in 2022, including potential nuclear-capable weapons designed to strike targets in South Korea or reach the U.S. mainland. It also conducted a slew of launches it described as simulated nuclear attacks on South Korean and U.S. targets in response to the expanded U.S. military drills with South Korea, which had been downsized during the Trump administration.
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