Kim Jong-un vowed to increase Pyongyang’s military capabilities

Two weeks before Joe Biden entered the White House, official media reported on Thursday that North Korean leader Kim Jong-un had vowed to strengthen his country’s military capabilities, which are already nuclear.

In a report to the Workers’ Party Congress in Pyongyang, Kim pledged to “take the state’s defense capabilities to a very high level and set goals to achieve it.” , The official North Korean agency KCNA reports.

After exchanging insults and threats of nuclear war, Mr. Kim and US President Donald Trump reached an extraordinary agreement, and the three meetings were historically marked.

No progress has been made on the tedious issue of Pyongyang’s nuclear and ballistic programs. Negotiations have stalled since the second summit between the two in February 2019 in Hanoi.

One reason for the stalemate is the lack of consensus on what North Korea should do instead of lifting international sanctions against it.

Experts expect the North Korean leader to send a message to the next U.S. government at the 8th Congress of the Workers’ Party of Korea, which opened on Tuesday.

But the room for maneuver is narrow to North Korea, which has a real hatred for Joe Biden, “mad dog”, “must be killed”. For his part, Mr. Kim, who was elected president, was called an “assailant.”

“Building nuclear capabilities”

The KCNA made no mention of nuclear weapons and did not specify the nature of the defense goals to be achieved.

According to Ahn Chan-il, a North Korean defector who became a researcher at the World Institute for North Korean Studies in Seoul, Kim Jong-un’s message is clear.

“This means the North will strengthen its nuclear capabilities,” he told AFP.

Mr Kim is reluctant to use the term “nuclear” as Mr Biden takes office this month, and he knows the future president’s position on Pyongyang will not be compromised, unlike its predecessors. “

“Kim probably doesn’t want to provoke him at this point. But very clearly, the North will never give up its nuclear weapons.”

Mr Biden’s presidency is expected to return to a more classic approach to Pyongyang, with the United States insisting that significant progress be made in the work talks as well. Check out the new meeting between the heads of state.

For its part, North Korea defends nuclear programs banned by the international community, threatening the survival of its regime in Washington.

For decades, the government has allocated vast resources for the development of these programs, including sanctions that impose increasing fines on its economy and population.

New parade?

Since Mr. Kim came to power nine years ago, these programs have made great strides, including numerous nuclear tests and intercontinental ballistic missile testing.

During a parade in October, Pyongyang unveiled a massive missile that experts say is the world’s largest liquid propellant and mobile road missile, and is likely to carry multiple heads (MIRV technology).

Analysts see this as evidence that North Korea continues to develop its programs despite the start of the diplomatic process with Washington.

A large group of the ruling party, aimed at strengthening the power of this congressional regime, is closely followed by experts from North Korea. Isolated to the world.

The media points to the confidence of satellite images that this Congress is the context for a new parade with “military elements”.

The parade was held in 2016 over four days during the previous Congress.

On the first day of this congress, Kim Jong-un acknowledged the economic failure, acknowledging that “almost all sectors” had not achieved the goals set out in the Five Year Plan.