SEOUL: North Korea on Thursday urged its 1.2 million troops to unite behind leader Kim Jong Un and defend him with their lives, as the country celebrated the 10th anniversary of Kim’s ascension to supreme commander of the military.
The anniversary comes as North Korea is holding a key multi-day political conference in which officials are expected to discuss how to address difficulties brought by the pandemic and long-dormant diplomacy with the United States.
In a lengthy editorial, the official Rodong Sinmun newspaper said that North Korea’s military commanders and soldiers must become an “impregnable fortress and bulletproof walls in devotedly defending (Kim) with their lives.”
It also called for building a more modernized, advanced military that serves as a “reliable guardian of our state and people.” The editorial said all of North Korea’s troops and people must uphold Kim’s leadership to establish a powerful socialist country.
North Korea has previously issued similar propaganda-heavy statements urging people to rally behind Kim in times of difficulties. Some experts say Kim has been grappling with the toughest moment of his 10-year rule due to the coronavirus pandemic, UN sanctions and his own mismanagement.
On Monday, Kim opened a plenary meeting of the Central Committee of the ruling Workers’ Party to review past projects and determine major policies for next year. In two days of meetings, Kim set unspecified development strategies for the country’s rural development, while participants discussed next year’s budget and other agendas, according to state media.
Observers say North Korea will likely disclose Kim’s stances on relations with Washington and Seoul, the deadlocked nuclear diplomacy and the economic hardships at the end of the plenary meeting expected later this week.
Despite the present difficulties, few outside analysts question Kim’s grip on power. Kim’s supreme commander post at the Korean People’s Army was the first top job he was given after his father Kim Jong Il’s death in 2011. The current leader holds a slew of other high-profile positions such as general secretary of the Workers’ Party and chairman of the State Affairs Commission.
North Korea calls for troops’ greater loyalty to Kim Jong Un
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North Korea calls for troops’ greater loyalty to Kim Jong Un
- North Korea has previously issued similar propaganda-heavy statements urging people to rally behind leader in times of difficulties
Putin says developing Russia’s nuclear forces ‘absolute priority’
- Putin vowed to keep “strengthening the army and navy” and draw on military experience from the nearly four-year conflict in Ukraine
MOSCOW: President Vladimir Putin said Sunday that developing Russia’s nuclear forces was now an “absolute priority” following the expiry of its last remaining nuclear treaty with the US.
“The development of the nuclear triad, which guarantees Russia’s security and ensures effective strategic deterrence and a balance of forces in the world, remains an absolute priority,” Putin said in a video message.
His speech came on Russia’s “Defender of the Fatherland Day,” a holiday that is an occasion for military pomp and Kremlin-sponsored patriotism.
Putin vowed to keep “strengthening the army and navy” and draw on military experience from the nearly four-year conflict in Ukraine.
All branches of the armed forces would be improved, he said, including their “combat readiness, their mobility, and their ability to operate in all conditions, even the most difficult.”
Putin’s remarks came just two days before the fourth anniversary of Russia’s assault on Ukraine that sparked a war that has shattered towns, uprooted millions and killed large numbers on both sides.
Moscow and Washington — the world’s two main nuclear powers — are no longer bound by any arms control pact since the New START agreement expired earlier this month.
But Russia said it would continue taking a “responsible” approach to strategic nuclear capability and respecting the limits set on its arsenal.
