North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has announced that his country will accelerate its nuclear program. Kim’s announcement came during Monday’s military parade to commemorate the 90th anniversary of the founding of the Korean People’s Army, which was confirmed by North Korean state media on Tuesday.
“The republic’s nuclear power should be ready to carry out its mission of unique deterrence at any time,” Kim said. “If any military forces attempt to infiltrate our nation’s core interests, our nuclear forces will be forced to launch a second mission unexpectedly,” he added.
North Korea is under severe international sanctions for its nuclear and ballistic programs. Diplomatic negotiations to persuade Kim Jong Un to abandon those programs have faltered since a meeting between the North Korean leader and then-US President Donald Trump in 2019.
US and South Korean observers and officials suspect Pyongyang may soon resume testing its nuclear weapons, which have been halted since 2017. Satellite imagery has already shown signs of activity in a tunnel at the Punggye-ri site, which North Korea said was demolished in 2018 before the first summit Between Donald Trump and Kim Jong Un.
New Bigger Rocket
The display also saw the Hwasong-17 missile, North Korea’s largest ICBM. The Hwasong-17 was partially tested for the first time last month, but South Korean authorities do not believe that North Korea has successfully completed a full test of the missile.
Unlimited free access to Showbytes? And that can!
Sign in or create an account and never miss a thing from the stars.
