The Workers' Party of Korea plenary meeting was held from June 20 to 22.
North Korean state media reported that General Secretary Kim Jong-un received a report on the first half of the year and presented conclusions regarding short-term and long-term struggle tasks.
[Korean Central Television: They unanimously recognized that continuously expanding and strengthening nuclear forces and thoroughly exercising the status of a nuclear-armed state is the only way.]
Kim Jong-un emphasized that he would increase powerful national defense assets, setting a goal to reach a level that overwhelms the world. This is interpreted as an intention to accelerate both the strengthening of nuclear forces and the modernization of conventional military power.
This plenary meeting, which foreshadows North Korea's moves for the second half of the year, draws attention as it was held immediately after conciliatory gestures toward the North were made by the leaders of South Korea and the United States.
U.S. President Trump posted a photo of a North Korea-U.S. summit on social media on the 13th, and President Lee Jae-myung publicly stated that he had mentioned the need for a phased resolution of the North Korean nuclear issue to President Trump on the sidelines of the G7 summit.
[President Lee Jae-myung (June 19, Briefing on G7 and European tour results): We must ensure that dialogue takes place centered around the U.S., and we must strive to create the conditions for that. They will listen if we broadcast it, right? Surely. They are probably listening to this today, aren't they?]
Although the leaders of South Korea and the U.S. have directly or indirectly expressed their will to resolve the North Korean nuclear issue, North Korea appears to be responding by continuing on its own path of strengthening its nuclear forces.
Kim Jong-un even threw a check by pointing to the meeting of the Nuclear Consultative Group (NCG), a South Korea-U.S. extended deterrence consultative body, and the South Korean government's plan to introduce nuclear-powered submarines as the causes of the worsening situation.
Meanwhile, North Korea unusually disclosed during this meeting that it had decided to hand over the deputy director of the organization department of the General Political Bureau of the Korean People's Army to legal authorities on charges of corruption.
At the same time, Jo Yong-won, Chairman of the Standing Committee of the Supreme People's Assembly and a close aide to Kim Jong-un, was reinstated as the Party's organizational secretary after three months. Analysts interpret this as an attempt to tighten internal discipline and increase control over officials.
Reported by Kim Ayeong | Video by Park Na-young | Produced by SBS Digital News
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