PYONGYANG, North Korea: North Korea has pledged its “strongest response strategy” against the US, less than a month before Donald Trump takes office as US president, North Korea’s state media reported on Sunday.
Trump’s return to the White House raises prospects for high-profile diplomacy with North Korea. During his first term, Trump met North Korean leader Kim Jong Un three times for talks on the nuclear programme.
The Central Committee of North Korea’s ruling Workers’ Party of Korea convened from Monday to Friday, with Kim Jong-un presiding, the Yonhap News Agency quoted the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA).
The meeting resulted in a resolution condemning the US and its allies for their military alliance of transforming into an “invasive nuclear military bloc.”
KCNA labelled the US as the “most reactionary” state, asserting its anti-communist policies pose a direct threat to Pyongyang’s national security, according to Yonhap.
Kim called for refining warfare tactics to counter “the shifting war attempts by enemies” and ordered continuous enhancements to the army’s warfare capacities.
North Korea also criticised the military cooperation between South Korea, the US, and Japan as escalating regional tensions.
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Additionally, Pak Thae-song was appointed the new premier during the session, replacing Kim Tok-hun.
The leadership change reflects Kim’s efforts to adapt to what he perceives as mounting external threats.
“This reality clearly shows to which direction we should advance and what we should do and how,” Kim said during the five-day meeting, according to the official Korean Central News Agency.
It said Kim’s speech “clarified the strategy for the toughest anti-US counteraction to be launched aggressively” by North Korea for its long-term national interests and security.
KCNA didn’t elaborate on the anti-US strategy. But it said Kim set forth tasks to bolster military capability through defence technology advancements and stressed the need to improve the mental toughness of North Korean soldiers.
The previous meetings between Trump and Kim had not only put an end to their exchanges of fiery rhetoric and threats of destruction, but they developed personal connections. Trump once famously said he and Kim “fell in love.” But their talks eventually collapsed in 2019, as they wrangled over US-led sanctions on the North.
Last month, Kim said that his past negotiations with the United States only confirmed Washington’s “unchangeable” hostility toward his country and described his nuclear build-up as the only way to counter external threats.
