Kim Jong Un Has Grim 2023 Resolutions

North Korean leader wants to expand nuclear arsenal 'exponentially,' orders more powerful ICBM
By Newser Editors and Wire Services
Posted Jan 2, 2023 3:00 AM CST
Updated Jan 2, 2023 6:49 AM CST
Kim Jong Un Orders 'Exponential' Expansion of Nuclear Arsenal
In this photo provided by the North Korean government, a ceremony of donating 600mm super-large multiple launch rocket system is held at a garden of the Workers’ Party of Korea headquarters in Pyongyang, North Korea Saturday, Dec. 31, 2022.   (Korean Central News Agency/Korea News Service via AP)

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un ordered the “exponential” expansion of his country’s nuclear arsenal and the development of a more powerful intercontinental ballistic missile, state media reported Sunday, after he entered 2023 with another weapons launch following a record number of testing activities last year, the AP reports. Kim’s moves are in line with the broad direction of his nuclear program. He has repeatedly vowed to boost both the quality and quantity of his arsenal to cope with what he calls US hostility. Some experts say Kim’s push to produce more nuclear and other weapons signals his intention to continue a run of weapons tests and ultimately solidify his future negotiating power and win greater outside concessions.

“They are now keen on isolating and stifling (North Korea), unprecedented in human history,” Kim said at a recently ended key ruling party meeting, according to the official Korean Central News Agency. “The prevailing situation calls for making redoubled efforts to overwhelmingly beef up the military muscle." During the six-day meeting meant to determine new state objectives, Kim called for “an exponential increase of the country’s nuclear arsenal” to mass produce battlefield tactical nuclear weapons targeting South Korea. He also presented a task to develop a new ICBM missioned with a “quick nuclear counterstrike” capability—a weapon he needs to strike the mainland US. He said the North’s first military reconnaissance satellite will be launched “at the earliest date possible," KCNA said.

“Kim’s comments from the party meeting reads like an ambitious—but perhaps achievable—New Year’s resolution list,” said Soo Kim, a security analyst at the California-based RAND Corporation. “It’s ambitious in that Kim consciously chose to spell out what he hopes to accomplish as we head into 2023, but it also suggests a dose of confidence on Kim’s part.” Last month, North Korea claimed to have performed key tests needed for the development of a new strategic weapon, a likely reference to a solid-fueled ICBM, and a spy satellite. Later Sunday, South Korea’s Defense Ministry reiterated a warning that that any attempt to use nuclear weapons by North Korea “will lead to the end of the Kim Jong Un government." The US military has previously made similar warnings.

(More Kim Jong Un stories.)

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