JanieRiddle
Kim Jong-un requires the North Korean army to take "active and offensive" measures to ensure security before the end of the year.
This request was made by Kim Jong-un with the foreign affairs, defense industry and armed forces to ensure the sovereignty and security of the country when speaking at the 5th plenum of the Commission. Central Committee Session 7 of the Korean Workers' Party (WPK) on December 29, according to the North Korean Central News Agency (KCNA).
North Korean leader Kim Jong-un speaks at the WPK conference on December 29 Photo: Reuters/KCNA.
The conference was convened from December 28 for WPK to discuss important policy issues, as the year-end deadline for denuclearization issues that the country poses to the US is approaching. However, KCNA did not specify what measures Kim Jong-un wants the military and diplomatic agencies to take in the near future.
At the conference, Mr. Kim also discussed issues of state and economic management, in the context of the North Korean economy being strangled by US and UN sanctions. He "presented tasks to urgently address the weakness of key sectors in the national economy," KCNA said.
The Korean peninsula is showing signs of tension again when the denuclearization negotiations between Washington and Pyongyang are at a standstill. North Korea called on the United States to take a new approach to resume denuclearization talks before the end of this year, warning that it could take a new path if the United States failed to meet its expectations.
North Korea has not made clear what it will do if the United States does not propose breakthrough negotiating measures before December 31. However, US military officials say that North Korea can conduct some provocative actions such as launching satellites or testing long-range missiles, even testing nuclear weapons.
US national security adviser Robert O'Brien said on December 29 that Washington would be extremely disappointed if Pyongyang tried long-range or nuclear missiles. The US has opened communication channels with North Korea and hopes Kim Jong-un will fulfill the commitments to denuclearization made at the summit with President Donald Trump.
