Kim calls party meet amid fears of new weapons test
SEOUL: North Korea said yesterday that a meeting of top party officials was in session, as analysts in the South and the United States closely watched for signs of a major policy shift ahead of a self-imposed Dec 31 deadline to end nuclear talks with Washington.
The meeting, called by Kim Jongun, the North’s leader, was convened to discuss the “harsh trials and difficulties”, the country faces “in the building of the state and national defence”, the state-run Korean Central News Agency reported yesterday.
The news agency said “important policy issues for new victory in our revolution under the present situation” were adopted as agenda items but provided no further details.
Since North Korea warned of a “Christmas gift” for the United States, officials in that country have feared the North might signal an end to its moratorium on weapons testing before the end of the year.
One of the highest decision-making bodies in North Korea, the Central Committee of the ruling Workers’ Party usually rubber-stamps any policy proposed by Mr Kim, who rules his country with totalitarian control of the party, the military and all other levers of power.
After months of stalled negotiations with Washington over ending its weapons programs in exchange for lifting crippling UN sanctions, North Korea has warned in recent weeks that it could soon resume tests aimed at boosting its missile and nuclear weapons capabilities.
Mr Kim is scheduled to deliver his annual policy speech on New Year’s Day, when any new policy might be announced.
Since assuming power in 2011 after the death of his father and predecessor, Kim Jong-il, Mr Kim has accelerated his country’s nuclear weapons and missile programs. North Korea has conducted four of its six underground nuclear tests since Mr Kim rose to power. And it conducted three intercontinental ballistic missile tests in 2017.
But at a Central Committee meeting in April 2018, Mr Kim declared that since successfully building a nuclear weapon, North Korea would shift its focus to economic development and halt all nuclear and intercontinental ballistic missile tests.
Two months later, he met President Donald Trump in Singapore for the first summit meeting between the sitting leaders of the North and the US.