Aha Dua Permata: North Korea's Kim orders military to accelerate war preparations -state media

North Korea's Kim orders military to accelerate war preparations -state media

North Korea's leader Kim Jong Un speaks at the 5th National Meeting of Mothers in Pyongyang in this picture released by the Korean Central News Agency on December 5, 2023. KCNA via REUTERS/File Photo Acquire Licensing Rights

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has ordered its military, the munitions industry and the nuclear weapons sector to accelerate war preparations to counter what he called unprecedented confrontational moves by the U.S., state media said on Thursday.

Speaking on the policy directions for the new year at a key meeting of the country's ruling party on Wednesday, Kim also said Pyongyang would expand strategic cooperation with "anti-imperialist independent" countries, news agency KCNA reported.

"He (Kim) set forth the militant tasks for the People's Army and the munitions industry, nuclear weapons and civil defence sectors to further accelerate the war preparations," KCNA said.

North Korea has been expanding ties with Russia, among others, as Washington accuses Pyongyang of supplying military equipment to Moscow for use in its war with Ukraine, while Russia provides technical support to help the North advance its military capabilities.

Kim also laid out economic goals for the new year during the meeting, calling it a "decisive year" to accomplish the country's five-year development plan, the report said.

"He ... clarified the important tasks for the new year to be dynamically pushed forward in the key industrial sectors," and called for "stabilising the agricultural production on a high level."

The North has suffered serious food shortages in recent decades, including famine in the 1990s, often as a result of natural disasters. International experts have warned that border closures during the COVID-19 pandemic worsened food security.

North Korea's crop output was estimated to have increased year-on-year in 2023 due to favourable weather conditions. But a Seoul official has said the amount was still far below what is needed to address the country's chronic food shortages.

The 9th plenary meeting of the 8th central committee of the Workers' Party of Korea kicked off on Tuesday to wrap up a year during which the isolated North enshrined nuclear policy in its constitution, launched a spy satellite and fired a new intercontinental ballistic missile.

The days-long assembly of the party and government officials has been used in recent years to make key policy announcements. Previously, state media released Kim's speech on New Year's Day.

Saudi Arabia Not Interested in Joining US-Led Red Sea Coalition Against Houthis - Reports

Saudi Arabia has no interest in taking part in the new US-led coalition to safeguard commercial traffic in the Red Sea from Houthi attacks, prioritizing domestic security and economic development instead, The New York Times reported, citing US and Saudi officials.

©AP Photo/Mandel Ngan

The kingdom views the prospect of peace on its southern border "a more appealing goal" compared to joining any naval action after eight years of war with the rebel movement that drained Saudi coffers and helped drive Yemen into one of the world's most acute humanitarian crises, the newspaper reported on Monday.

Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman Al Saud, whom the report described as the kingdom's "de facto" ruler, wants to transform it into a business hub by 2030 and seeks to resolve conflicts and soothe tensions across the Middle East, including through a rapprochement with Iran, its regional rival.

Yemen has been engulfed in an armed conflict between the government forces and the Houthi rebels since 2014. The situation exacerbated in March 2015, when the Saudi-led coalition, working in cooperation with the internationally-recognized Yemeni government, began conducting air, land and sea operations against the Houthis. The latter have retaliated by attacking Saudi forces and firing missiles into Saudi Arabia.

After the armed conflict between Israel and Palestinian movement Hamas escalated in October, the Houthis have intensified their attacks on cargo ships linked to Israel in the Red Sea and the Arabian Sea, vowing to continue them until Israel ends its military actions in the Gaza Strip.

Last week, US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin announced the establishment of a multinational operation to secure the Red Sea amid the surge in Houthis' attacks on cargo ships, saying that the United Kingdom, Bahrain, Canada, France, Italy, the Netherlands, Norway, the Seychelles, and Spain would take part in the mission. The Houthis, for their part, vowed to attack any ships that join the US-led maritime coalition