At a meeting of the Central Military Commission, the North Korean leader warned of “crushing” measures in the event of an invasion of his country by South Korea.
A drastic decision. North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has sacked the army chief of staff and called for an intensification of war preparations by increasing the manufacture of weapons and carrying out more maneuvers, local media reported on Thursday. ‘State.
The announcements were made at a meeting of the Central Military Commission on Wednesday, KCNA, the North Korean news agency, reported.
“Crushing” measures in the event of an invasion from the South
Cigarette in hand, the North Korean leader addressed generals by showing cards, according to images released by state media, while referring to “major military actions” against South Korea.
Last week, he visited several large arms factories for three days from Thursday to Saturday. The military meeting comes at a time when Seoul and Washington are due to begin their main annual joint military maneuvers at the end of August.
Pyongyang sees all of these exercises as rehearsals for an invasion and has repeatedly warned that it will take “crushing” measures to respond to them.
During Wednesday’s meeting, the North Korean leader fired Chief of the General Staff Pak Su Il to replace him with Vice Marshal Ri Yong Gil, KCNA said without giving further details.
“Mass production of equipment and weapons”
Promoted last year, Pak Su Il may have been removed from his post “because he did not demonstrate sufficient competence in the field of military operations”, said Cheong Seong-chang, a researcher at the ‘Sejong Institute.
According to the news agency, the agenda for this meeting was “the issue of preparations for total war”, including “obtaining more powerful strike means” in order to ensure “perfect military preparation in view of a war”.
Kim Jong Un asked “all ammunition factories to continue mass production of equipment and weapons”, according to the same source.
“He also called for actively carrying out real military maneuvers in order to effectively use the most recently deployed weapons and equipment.”
The meeting also covered preparations for a grand parade to mark the 75th anniversary of North Korea’s founding on September 9. Pyongyang will hold a major defense exhibition at the same time.
In late July, the leader gave Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu a tour of the country’s latest and most advanced weapons, including ballistic missiles and drones.
2023-08-10 12:38:35
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