"Toughest countermeasure" North Korea announces aggressive policy against the USA
A few weeks before Donald Trump's inauguration, Kim Jong Un is showing a belligerent attitude. He could benefit from cooperation with Russia.
29.12.2024, 23:24
29.12.2024, 23:25
dpa
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- North Korean ruler Kim Jong Un has announced a tough policy against the USA.
- The USA is the "most reactionary state" and has formed a "nuclear military bloc for aggression" with Japan and South Korea.
- North Korea would respond with a "strategy for the toughest countermeasure".
North Korean ruler Kim Jong Un has announced a tough policy against the USA. The USA is the "most reactionary state" and has formed a "nuclear military bloc for aggression" with Japan and South Korea, Kim said at a plenary session of the state party, as reported by the state news agency KCNA on Sunday. North Korea would respond with a "strategy for the toughest countermeasure", which it "must aggressively launch in the interests of its long-term national interests and security".
KCNA did not report what this countermeasure would look like. It merely said that Kim had set tasks to strengthen military capabilities through advances in military technology and emphasized the need to improve the mental toughness of North Korean soldiers.
Kim delivered his speech less than a month before Donald Trump's return to the White House. During his first term, Trump met Kim three times for talks on North Korea's nuclear program after the two initially engaged in bellicose rhetoric. Trump once said that he and Kim had "fallen in love". The talks broke down in 2019 without results.
Since then, North Korea has greatly accelerated its weapons tests to build reliable nuclear missiles aimed at the US and its allies. The USA expanded its military exercises with South Korea and Japan.
Many experts believe that a quick resumption of summit meetings between Kim and Trump is unlikely, as Trump will initially focus on the conflicts in Ukraine and the Middle East. Russia and China have repeatedly blocked US attempts to impose further UN sanctions against North Korea, even though the country has repeatedly tested missiles in defiance of UN Security Council resolutions.
Efforts to persuade North Korea to give up its nuclear weapons in return for economic and political benefits are made even more difficult by the deepening military cooperation with Russia. According to estimates by the USA, Ukraine and South Korea, North Korea has deployed more than 10,000 soldiers and conventional weapons systems in support of Russia's war of aggression against Ukraine. There are fears that Russia could provide North Korea with sophisticated weapons technology in return, including help to build more powerful nuclear missiles.
