Kim Jong-un's call for "active and offensive" may signal a "new way" he chooses to return to provocative actions.

At the 5th plenum of the 7th Central Committee of the Korean Workers' Party (WPK) on December 29, Kim Jong-un made a request to foreign affairs, military and armed forces. page, emphasizing the need to "take active measures and attack to ensure full sovereignty and national security".

The conference was convened from December 28 and took place several days. Analyst Cheong Seong-Chang at the Sejong Institute in South Korea said it was the first time since Mr Kim was in power, a plenary meeting of the Party Central Committee held more than a day.

Cheong said Kim had an urgent need to make major policy changes in the face of persistent U.S. sanctions and pressure. According to the United Nations sanctions decree, all North Korean workers must return home by December 22, making the Korean economy more difficult.

"It is understandable that Kim's statement that North Korea considers 2020 a very significant year in national management and economic construction," said Kim Dong-yub, a professor of Korean studies at the University. Kyungnam said. "It is also possible that the DPRK considers 2020 a decisive year for Kim Jong-un's leadership and the stability of the government."

Pyongyang has demanded that the US loosen international sanctions as a prerequisite for denuclearization, while Washington wants North Korea to take more practical steps in giving up its nuclear arsenal and range missiles. far. Kim has repeatedly warned that North Korea will pursue a "new path" if the US maintains its sanctions.

China and Russia, North Korea's largest economic partners, in early December proposed easing UN sanctions against Pyongyang, but were not approved by the United States. Analysts say that Kim Jong-un is likely to find a way to exploit the competition between Washington, Beijing and Moscow.

"The 'new path' is more likely to be 'old wine bottles' when denuclearization is no longer on the negotiating table," said Henry Feron, from the Center for International Policy in the US. "'New' here means it will be different from the stance promoting diplomacy in the past two years, which will return to the stance the North Korea maintained during Obama."

"They will focus on developing parallel military and economic leverage to stand firm against sanctions, and demand peace and normalization of unconditional relations before starting any discussion. on denuclearization, "said Feron.

Before beginning diplomatic efforts with the United States in 2018, Kim Jong-un announced that North Korea had completed its "economic and military co-operation" strategy and would focus on economic development. He pledged to bring a significant change to the people of North Korea, but that promise has not been realized so far, as the pressure of sanctions is stifling the country's economy.

"Positive and offensive measures can be highly provocative to the US and South Korea," said Yang Moo-jin, a professor at the Korea Research University in Seoul.

Kim Jong-un will show more clearly his intentions in the New Year's speech on January 1, 2020. This is Mr. Kim's 8th New Year's speech, after he resumed the tradition that began with his grandfather, the founding leader of Kim Il Sung. The speech will summarize the work done and set goals for the future.

"Kim's new year speech evolved over time, his early years standing at a podium in a party uniform, then he moved to sit in his office wearing a Western-style vest and tie in 2019. ", analyst Rachel Minyoung Lee at NK News said.

Pyongyang has stepped up its pressure on the United States over the past few years with short-range missile and artillery tests. Lee said that North Korea is likely to resume testing of long-range missiles such as intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBMs), nuclear bombs and "military provocations against Korea" by 2020. Their movement has stopped since 2017.

Analyst Cheong also said that Kim may have reaffirmed his commitment to strengthen the nuclear and missile program at a meeting of the Central Committee of the Party, as the commander of the North Korean military strategic force was present. December 28 event.

An ICBM launch, however, will make the situation escalate rapidly and threaten to anger China. Beijing has always stressed the importance of stability in what it regards as a backyard. And Trump does not want to return to the period when the two sides fought fiercely, causing him to launch the "fire and rage" threat to North Korea in 2017. He wants to reach an agreement with Pyongyang, according to Joseph Yun , former US envoy for North Korea.

"The highest priority for President Trump is definitely re-election," he said. Therefore, returning to the past confrontation "will make him unable to show the image of the" negotiating master "he desires, especially when he has little to show off, after withdrawing from the US from the Iran nuclear deal and the Paris Agreement on climate change. "