{"id":592972,"date":"2023-01-01T08:51:44","date_gmt":"2023-01-01T14:51:44","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/news.sellorbuyhomefast.com\/index.php\/2023\/01\/01\/north-koreas-kim-orders-new-icbm-bigger-nuclear-arsenal-amid-tension\/"},"modified":"2023-01-01T08:51:44","modified_gmt":"2023-01-01T14:51:44","slug":"north-koreas-kim-orders-new-icbm-bigger-nuclear-arsenal-amid-tension","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/2023\/01\/01\/north-koreas-kim-orders-new-icbm-bigger-nuclear-arsenal-amid-tension\/","title":{"rendered":"North Korea\u2019s Kim orders new ICBM, bigger nuclear arsenal amid tension"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n

By Hyonhee Shin and Joyce Lee<\/p>\n

SEOUL (Reuters) -North Korean leader Kim Jong Un called for developing new intercontinental ballistic missiles and a larger nuclear arsenal to counter U.S.-led threats, state media said on Sunday, amid flaring tension between the rival Koreas.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

At a meeting of the ruling Workers\u2019 Party, Kim highlighted the need to secure \u201coverwhelming military power\u201d to defend its sovereignty and security.<\/p>\n

The meeting came amid cross-border tensions over last week\u2019s intrusion by North Korean drones into the South, and the North\u2019s series of missile launches, including intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBMs). <\/p>\n

South Korea\u2019s President Yoon Suk-yeol, during phone calls with military chiefs, called for \u201csolid mental readiness and practical training\u201d to ensure any North Korean provocations will be met with retaliation, according to a statement from his office.<\/p>\n

Kim accused Washington and Seoul of trying to \u201cisolate and stifle\u201d Pyongyang with U.S. nuclear strike assets constantly deployed in South Korea, calling it \u201cunprecedented in human history.\u201d <\/p>\n

He vowed to develop another ICBM system \u201cwhose main mission is quick nuclear counter-strike\u201d under a plan to bolster the country\u2019s nuclear force, the official KCNA news agency said. <\/p>\n

\u201cThe prevailing situation calls for making redoubled efforts to overwhelmingly beef up the military muscle \u2026 in response to the worrying military moves by the U.S. and other hostile forces,\u201d it said. <\/p>\n

South Korea has become \u201cour undoubted enemy\u201d being \u201chell-bent on imprudent and dangerous arms buildup\u201d and hostile military moves, Kim said. <\/p>\n

\u201cIt highlights the importance and necessity of a mass-producing of tactical nuclear weapons and calls for an exponential increase of the country\u2019s nuclear arsenal,\u201d Kim said, adding these would be a \u201cmain orientation\u201d of the 2023 nuclear and defence strategy. <\/p>\n

As part of the plan, the country will also launch its first military satellite \u201cat the earliest date possible\u201d by accelerating its drive to build a spy satellite, with preparations in the final stage, KCNA said. <\/p>\n

\u2018SUPER-LARGE ROCKET LAUNCHER\u2019<\/p>\n

The report came hours after North Korea fired a short-range ballistic missile off its east coast, in a rare late-night, New Year\u2019s Day weapons test. <\/p>\n

The isolated country also launched three ballistic missiles on Saturday, capping a year marked by a record number of missile tests. <\/p>\n

KCNA said in a separate dispatch that it was testing a new 600 mm super-large multiple rocket launcher capable of carrying nuclear weapons. <\/p>\n

Kim lauded the munitions industry for delivering 30 units of the system, calling it a \u201ccore, offensive weapon\u201d with all of South Korea within its range, and an ability to conduct a surprise and precision launch. <\/p>\n

\u201cWe have declared our resolute will to respond with nuke for nuke and an all-out confrontation for an all-out confrontation,\u201d Kim told a delivery ceremony on Saturday, ordering more powerful weapons to \u201cabsolutely overwhelm the U.S. imperialist aggressive forces and their puppet army.\u201d <\/p>\n

Inter-Korean ties have long been testy but have grown even more tense since Yoon took office in May pledging a tougher line against Pyongyang. <\/p>\n

The recent drone intrusion rekindled criticism over South Korea\u2019s air defences, and Yoon on Sunday again urged the military to stand ready to retaliate. <\/p>\n

\u201cOur military must resolutely retaliate against any provocation by the enemy with the determination to fight,\u201d Yoon told the military chiefs.<\/p>\n

The latest missile flew about 400 kilometres (249 miles)after being fired around 2:50 a.m. local time (1750 GMT) from the Ryongsong area of the capital Pyongyang, South Korea\u2019s Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) said.<\/p>\n

The JCS strongly condemned the North\u2019s series of missile tests as \u201cgrave provocations\u201d and urged an immediate halt. <\/p>\n

Japan\u2019s coast guard said the missile reached an altitude of around 100 km and flew around 350 km. Defence Minister Yasukazu Hamada said Tokyo had protested to North Korea over the launch via diplomatic channels in Beijing. <\/p>\n

The U.S. Indo-Pacific Command said the launch did not pose an immediate threat to U.S. personnel or territory but highlighted the destabilising impact of North Korea\u2019s weapons programme.<\/p>\n

North Korea fired an unprecedented number of missiles in 2022, pressing on with weapons development amid speculation it could test a nuclear weapon for a seventh time.<\/p>\n

In November, the North also resumed testing ICBMs for the first time since 2017, successfully launching the massive new Hwasong-17, potentially able to strike anywhere in the United States.<\/p>\n

(Reporting by Joyce Lee, Hyonhee Shin and Jack Kim; Additional reporting by David Dolan in Tokyo; Editing by Hugh Lawson and Richard Chang)<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

Read More<\/a>
\n Reuters<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By Hyonhee Shin and Joyce Lee SEOUL (Reuters) -North Korean leader Kim Jong Un called for developing new intercontinental ballistic missiles and a larger nuclear arsenal to counter U.S.-led threats, state media said on Sunday, amid flaring tension between the rival Koreas. At a meeting of the ruling Workers\u2019 Party, Kim highlighted the need to<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":592973,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[27002,1319],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-592972","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-koreas","8":"category-north"},"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/592972","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=592972"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/592972\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/592973"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=592972"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=592972"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=592972"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}