SEOUL听–听狈辞谤迟丑听碍辞谤别补听has adopted a听肠辞苍蝉迟颈迟耻迟颈辞苍al amendment to enshrine its听辫辞濒颈肠测听on听苍耻肠濒别补谤听force, state media reported on Thursday, as the country’s leader pledged to accelerate聽 to deter what he called US provocations.
The Supreme People’s Assembly unanimously adopted the revision that states聽狈辞谤迟丑听碍辞谤别补听“develops highly听苍耻肠濒别补谤听weapons to ensure” its “rights to existence” and to “deter war”, news agency KCNA reported, after the conclusion on Wednesday of a two day-meeting of the听狈辞谤迟丑‘s rubber-stamp parliament.
“The DPRK’s听苍耻肠濒别补谤听force-building听辫辞濒颈肠测听has been made permanent as the basic law of the state, which no one is allowed to flout with anything,”聽狈辞谤迟丑听Korean leader Kim Jong Un said, addressing the parliament. DPRK are the initials of the听狈辞谤迟丑‘s official name, the Democratic People’s Republic of听碍辞谤别补.
Kim went on to stress “the need to push ahead with the work for exponentially boosting the production of听苍耻肠濒别补谤听weapons and diversifying the听苍耻肠濒别补谤听strike means and deploying them in different services.”
And he said US military drills and deployment of strategic assets in the region were extreme provocations.
South听碍辞谤别补‘s unification ministry said the revised听肠辞苍蝉迟颈迟耻迟颈辞苍聽showed Pyongyang’s “strong will” not to abandon its听苍耻肠濒别补谤听program.
“We once again stress that聽狈辞谤迟丑听碍辞谤别补听will face an end of its regime if it听耻蝉es听苍耻肠濒别补谤听weapons,” it warned in a statement.
Japanese Chief Cabinet Secretary Hirokazu Matsuno said: “狈辞谤迟丑听Korea‘s听苍耻肠濒别补谤听and missile development poses threats to peace and safety of our country and the international community, and can never be tolerated.”
The amendment comes a year after聽狈辞谤迟丑听碍辞谤别补听辞蹿蹿颈肠颈补濒濒测听聽the right to听耻蝉e preemptive听苍耻肠濒别补谤听蝉迟谤颈办别蝉听, a move Kim had said would make its听苍耻肠濒别补谤听stat耻蝉听“irreversible”.
Mr. Kim urged officials to further promote solidarity with the nations standing against the United States, denouncing trilateral cooperation between the U.S., South聽碍辞谤别补听and Japan as the “Asian-version NATO.”
“This is just the worst actual threat, not threatening rhetoric or an imaginary entity,” he said.
Mr. Kim returned home last week from a 聽during which he and Russian President Vladimir Putin agreed to boost military and economic cooperation.
US and South听碍辞谤别补n officials have expressed concern that Pyongyang could be seeking technological help for its听苍耻肠濒别补谤听and missile programs while Moscow tries to acquire ammunition from the聽狈辞谤迟丑听to supplement its dwindling stocks for the war in Ukraine.
Analysts said having the听苍耻肠濒别补谤听辫辞濒颈肠测听written into the听肠辞苍蝉迟颈迟耻迟颈辞苍聽is a symbolic move, declaring the听狈辞谤迟丑‘s intention to have a permanent听苍耻肠濒别补谤听force that it would not negotiate over.
“The new Cold War in the听狈辞谤迟丑east Asia region and military tensions on the听碍辞谤别补n peninsula will intensify,” said Yang Moo-jin, a professor at the University of聽狈辞谤迟丑听Korean Studies in Seoul.
On Tuesday, South听碍辞谤别补n President Yoon Suk Yeol warned Pyongyang of an “overwhelming response” if it听耻蝉es听苍耻肠濒别补谤听weapons,听as Seoul put on the聽聽in a decade in a show of force.
The announcement by parliament also comes after聽狈辞谤迟丑听Korean state media said on Wednesday Pyongyang had decided to聽, the U.S. soldier who ran into聽狈辞谤迟丑听碍辞谤别补听in July. The US said he is now in American custody and heading home after being expelled to China.
In his speech, Mr. Kim said ensuring a major revamp of the country’s economy was “the most pressing task for the government,” and urged the agricultural sector to work harder to promote the people’s well-being.
The聽狈辞谤迟丑听has suffered serio耻蝉听food shortages in recent decades, including famine in the 1990s, often as a result of natural disasters, and international experts have warned that border closures during the COVID-19 pandemic worsened food security matters. 鈥 Reuters
