State media stated on Sunday that North Korean dictator Kim Jong Un had ordered a “exponential” increase in his nation’s nuclear arsenal.
According to the Associated Press, Kim has repeatedly pledged to expand North Korea’s nuclear weapons program and stockpile in order to fend off what he views as American aggression. A 2021 research pegged North Korea’s nuclear arsenal at 116 bombs, according to experts’ estimates.
“They are now keen on isolating and stifling [North Korea], unprecedented in human history,” Kim said at a recent ruling party meeting, according to state media. “The prevailing situation calls for making redoubled efforts to overwhelmingly beef up the military muscle.”
Kim launched a government mission to develop a weapon that can hit the US and called for “an exponential increase of the country’s nuclear arsenal” to target South Korea with tactical nuclear missiles.
North Korea has recently intensified its missile testing, which has caused tensions with its Democratic neighbor to the south to rise. According to the AP, South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol recently briefed his top military officials that “our security situation is still very critical.”
Any effort by Kim’s regime to deploy a nuclear bomb, according to South Korea’s military, “will lead to the end of the Kim Jong Un government.”
In order to track and limit North Korea’s nuclear weapons program, Yoon told a South Korean publication that he wants to work more closely with the US.
Yoon stated, according to Bloomberg, “Intelligence sharing, planning, and training should be done jointly, even though the US is the owner of the nuclear weapons.” “The US is taking a very constructive approach.”
Three ballistic missiles were allegedly tested by North Korea into the Sea of Japan at the end of 2022. The rocket tests, which were conducted as part of South Korea’s plan to develop a space-based surveillance system to keep an eye on North Korea, came the day before the launches.
The highest-ranking military officials in South Korea described the ballistic missile testing as “a grave provocation.”
According to South Korean authorities, North Korea used drones to cross its southern border over South Korea for the first time in five years earlier last week. Drones from South Korea entered North Korean airspace in retaliation.
In 2022, North Korea increased the number of missiles it tested as part of its weapons testing.
According to experts, North Korea’s actions and Kim’s recent remarks regarding his nation’s nuclear ambitions demonstrate an emboldened North Korea that may be able to back its bravado.
According to RAND Corporation security expert Soo Kim, “Kim’s comments from the party meeting read like an ambitious—but possibly doable—New Year’s resolution list.” It’s ambitious in that Kim made a conscious decision to outline his goals as we approach 2023, but it also conveys a certain amount of confidence on Kim’s behalf.
