Kim Jong Un accelerates arms buildup, warns of nuclear war
The remarks came at a three-day Workers' Party meeting amid U.S.-South Korea military modernization and debate over nuclear submarines.
Kim Jong Un urged a faster buildup of North Korea's defense capabilities and said the situation on the Korean Peninsula was nearing the threshold of nuclear war. According to a KCNA report cited by AFP, he made the remarks as he closed a three-day Workers' Party of Korea meeting that ended Monday. In his speech, Kim said the modernization of the armed forces of the United States and South Korea, including Seoul's push for nuclear submarines, was bringing the threat of war closer. He then called for the expansion and strengthening of what he described as powerful and reliable deterrent capabilities. North Korea remains under sanctions over its nuclear program and is still technically at war with South Korea because the 1950-1953 conflict ended only in an armistice.