Kim Jong-un Reaffirms Strengthening Nuclear Force: "Current Reality Confirms Our Choices Are Justified"

North Korea has held a plenary meeting of the Workers' Party Central Committee to review the progress of the first half of the year, the first year of the 9th Party Congress, and reaffirmed its principle of expanding and strengthening its nuclear forces.
The Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) reported that the 2nd Plenary Meeting of the 9th Central Committee of the Workers' Party of Korea was held from June 20 to 22, presided over by General Secretary Kim Jong-un.
The KCNA reported that during the meeting, General Secretary Kim outlined the "direction of party and state policies and future short-term and long-term struggle tasks" and reached "important conclusions."
General Secretary Kim diagnosed the current international situation, stating, "The characteristic of the current international situation is the intensification of camp-based confrontation between independent forces and dominant forces as war, bloodshed, and political and economic instability become widespread." He emphasized, "The reality of today, where the arbitrariness of a specific country runs rampant, once again confirms how justified all our policy choices and the path we have taken are."
The news agency reported that the meeting "unanimously acknowledged that continuously expanding and strengthening nuclear forces and thoroughly exercising the status of a nuclear-armed state is the most accurate and only way to proactively and confidently deal with the complex, changing, and unpredictable international military and political situation."
Regarding nuclear technology, it was emphasized that "more extensive, innovative, and encouraging plans will be implemented at an accelerated pace."
At the meeting, General Secretary Kim instructed to "continue to carry out the work to further increase powerful national defense assets without pause, thoroughly in our own way, and with the goal of reaching a level that can overwhelm the world."
The KCNA also reported that the construction of a 10,000-ton "strategic guided missile cruiser," decided by the Central Military Commission of the Workers' Party on April 4, was emphasized.
North Korea also reaffirmed its foreign policy of defining inter-Korean relations as relations between two hostile states.
The news agency emphasized, "In the field of foreign affairs, all external relations must be developed proactively and vigorously from the standpoint of subordinating them to the protection of national interests and the building of a rich country and a strong army," adding, "In particular, we must thoroughly adhere to our party's principle of anti-enemy struggle, which recognizes South Korea as the most hostile state."
The meeting also directly criticized the holding of the Nuclear Consultative Group (NCG) meetings between South Korea and the U.S., as well as the South Korean government's discussions on introducing nuclear-powered submarines.
A reorganization of the Workers' Party was also carried out during the meeting.
Jo Yong-won, Chairman of the Standing Committee of the Supreme People's Assembly, was appointed as the Director of the Organization Department of the Party Central Committee.
The vacant position of Chairman of the Standing Committee of the Supreme People's Assembly is scheduled to be filled at a future session of the Supreme People's Assembly.
Kim Jae-ryong, who was a member of the Presidium of the Political Bureau and a Party Secretary, was dismissed from all his positions.
The specific reasons for his dismissal were not disclosed.
However, given that the meeting publicly announced that Park Hui-chol, a major general and deputy director of the Organization Department of the General Political Bureau of the Korean People's Army, would be handed over to legal authorities on charges of corruption, it is possible that this was a personnel measure holding him accountable for poor organizational management.
At this meeting, North Korea also identified the revitalization of the coal industry as a key task in the economic sector and decided to begin construction to modernize housing in coal mining villages across the country starting next year.
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.