28 September 2023 , 09:36
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Brutal North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has called for an exponential increase in the production of nuclear weapons and touted the United States as "the root cause of war and aggression."
He called for his country to play a larger role in a coalition of nations confronting the United States in a "new Cold War" during a two-day session of the country's farcical parliament. The Supreme People’s Assembly's session on Tuesday and Wednesday came after Kim made an unprecedented trip to Russia's Far East this month to meet with Russian President Vladimir Putin and visit military and technology sites. The trip sparked Western concerns about a possible arms alliance in which North Korea would supply Putin with more weapons to fuel his dwindling army in Ukraine.
Kim Jong-un’s "most powerful" missile was launched earlier this year (Credit: Pen News)As North Korea slowly ends its pandemic lockdown, Kim has been actively trying to form relationships with Moscow and Beijing in the hope of forming a united front against Washington. North Korea's "nuclear force-building policy has been made permanent as the basic law of the state, which no one is allowed to flout with anything", Kim said in a speech at the assembly. He stressed the need to "push ahead with the work for exponentially boosting the production of nuclear weapons and diversifying the nuclear strike means", KCNA said.
Kim said the United States military cooperation with South Korea and Japan is creating the "Asian version of NATO, the root cause of war and aggression." He continued: "This is just the worst actual threat, not threatening rhetoric or an imaginary entity. [Diplomats need to] further promote solidarity with the nations standing against the U.S. and the West’s strategy for hegemony."
Tensions on the Korean Peninsula are at their highest level in years as North Korea has test-fired more than 100 missiles since the start of 2022 and the US has expanded its military exercises with its Asian allies, to show its force of power to respond if required.
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Last year, North Korea broke records with 68 military tests in 2022—10 times more than in 2021. In July, Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu and Chinese Communist Party Politburo member Li Hongzhong visited a huge military parade in Pyongyang, where Kim rolled out his most powerful weapons, including intercontinental ballistic missiles designed to target the U.S. mainland.