North Korea begins the year by warning that it will increase its nuclear arsenal by 2023

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, at the end of his meeting with the country’s ruling workers’ parties, called for an increase in the production of nuclear weapons and intercontinental ballistic missiles. The declaration, which has already been condemned by South Korea, aims to boost the country’s defense capability.

Kim Jong Un raised the tone at the beginning of 2023. The North Korean leader called for the development of new intercontinental ballistic missiles and a nuclear arsenal, according to local media. The goal: to enhance its ability to defend the country’s sovereignty and prepare for a possible attack.

“The prevailing situation requires redoubling efforts to greatly enhance military power in response to alarming military maneuvers by the United States and other hostile forces,” Kim said at the end of a meeting with the ruling Workers’ Party.

The president asserted that both Washington and Seoul had tried to “isolate and strangle” Pyongyang. Some of the accusations he justified were of shipping US nuclear attack assets to South Korea.

Kim added, “In a situation where South Korea undoubtedly becomes an obvious enemy, mass production of tactical nuclear weapons is important and necessary, and therefore there is a need to increase the number of nuclear warheads geometrically.”

These statements come after a six-day meeting aimed at drawing the goals of the new state for the new year. In this sense, Kim stressed that the massive increase in the nuclear arsenal will be the “main thrust” of defense goals in 2023.

With Reuters, AP, and EFE