North Korea’s Kim Jong-un orders military to prepare for war, expand combat drills

Pyongyang’s latest warning came a week after it threatened to counter US military moves with the ‘most overwhelming nuclear force’

It follows a record-breaking year in missile testing, amid signs that North Korea is preparing a massive military parade in the capital Pyongyang

Reading Time:2 minutes

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un (centre) presides over a meeting of the Workers’ Party of Korea’s Central Military Commission on Monday. Photo KCNA via KNS / AFP

Published: 9:11am, 7 Feb 2023Updated: 9:13am, 7 Feb 2023

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un has ordered his military to expand its combat exercises and strengthen war preparedness as he looks to escalate an already provocative run in weapons demonstrations in the face of deepening tensions with its neighbours and Washington.

Kim presided over a meeting of the ruling Workers’ Party’s Central Military Commission on Monday and encouraged the armed forces to perform “ever-victorious feats” and display “matchless military strength” to open a new phase in development, the country’s official Korean Central News Agency reported on Tuesday.

The commission’s members discussed a series of tasks aimed at inducing “great change” in the military, including “constantly expanding and intensifying the operation and combat drills” and “more strictly perfecting the preparedness for war,” the agency said.

North Korean soldiers goose-step during a military parade in Pyongyang last year. Photo: KCNA/dpa

The meeting came amid signs that North Korea is preparing a massive military parade in the capital Pyongyang, to celebrate the founding anniversary of the Korean People’s Army that falls on Wednesday. Kim may use the event to showcase the latest hardware from his growing nuclear weapons and missile programme that is brewing concern for the United States and its allies in Asia.

The comments from the meeting are the latest warning from Pyongyang that it’s preparing to intensify its military demonstrations following a record-breaking year in missile testing. The warnings are in part a response to the US’ expanding military drills with South Korea, which the allies have said are aimed at countering the North’s evolving threat.

Last week, North Korea threatened to counter US military moves with the “most overwhelming nuclear force” as it condemned US plans to expand its joint exercises with South Korea and deploy more advanced military assets such as bombers and aircraft carriers to the region.

North Korea fired more than 70 ballistic missiles in 2022, including potential nuclear-capable weapons designed to strike targets in South Korea or reach the US mainland. It also conducted a slew of launches it described as simulated nuclear attacks on South Korean and US targets in response to the expanded US military drills with South Korea, which had been downsized during the Trump administration.