Kim Jong-un Emphasizes "Confrontation with the Enemy and Strong-to-Strong Direct Showdown"... No Mention of Nuclear Weapons

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Ki-min Lee] Kim Jong-un, General Secretary of the Workers' Party of Korea, reaffirmed the principles of 'anti-enemy struggle' and 'strong against strong, direct confrontation' related to external strategy at the expanded meeting of the 5th Plenary Session of the 8th Central Committee of the Party.

According to major North Korean state media such as Rodong Sinmun on the 11th, General Secretary Kim stated at the expanded meeting held from the 8th to the 10th, "The current security environment of our country is very serious, and the surrounding situation carries the risk of escalating into more extreme tensions," emphasizing "the need to continue to put great effort into strengthening national defense capabilities."

He reportedly said, "Such a situation urges us to accelerate the achievement of goals for strengthening national defense power."

General Secretary Kim further stated, "The right to self-defense is a matter of protecting national sovereignty, and in defending our national sovereignty, our Party's principle of strong against strong, direct confrontation will not yield an inch," emphasizing that "he presented combat tasks that the Republic's armed forces and defense research sectors must vigorously pursue." However, there was no mention of a 7th nuclear test or nuclear-related issues.

Regarding the U.S. and South Korea-related affairs, General Secretary Kim also declared "the principles and strategic-tactical directions to be upheld in the anti-enemy struggle and external affairs sectors."

By choosing the term 'anti-enemy struggle,' General Secretary Kim reaffirmed the strained inter-Korean relations. At the conclusion of the 4th Plenary Session of the 8th Central Committee held at the end of December last year, North Korea stated that "in response to the complex international political situation and surrounding environment, it presented principled issues and a series of tactical directions to be upheld in inter-Korean relations and external affairs sectors."

North Korea experts analyze that North Korea responded in kind considering the Yoon Suk-yeol administration's perception that 'North Korea is the main enemy.' Yang Moo-jin, Vice President of the University of North Korean Studies, said, "At this plenary meeting, North Korea clearly showed that it views inter-Korean relations as a hostile relationship," adding, "It is worrisome as it signals a counter-response to the South's revival of the 'North Korea is the main enemy' stance."

Meanwhile, the meeting discussed organizational issues, Party and state policies, emergency epidemic prevention situation management related to COVID-19, tasks for building national epidemic prevention capabilities, Party regulations, and other agendas.

In particular, regarding emergency epidemic prevention management, General Secretary Kim said, "The national epidemic prevention work has entered a new stage, passing through a sudden critical phase, moving from lockdown-focused prevention to a new phase combining lockdown and eradication struggle."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.