The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
N. Korea's Kim urges 'offensive measures'
Today is nation’s deadline for U.S. to make concessions in stalled nuclear talks.
SEOUL, SOUTH KOREA — North Korea’s leader, Kim Jong Un, called for “offensive measures” to strengthen security at a meeting of senior officials, the staterun media reported on Monday, a day before a North Korean-imposed deadline for Washington to make concessions in stalled nuclear talks.
The details
Kim’s comments came at a plenary meeting of the Central Committee of the Workers’ Party, which was convened over the weekend amid North Korean warnings that it was prepared to abandon diplomacy and resume nuclear and long-range missile tests.
On Sunday, the second day of the meeting, Kim emphasized “the need to take positive and offensive measures for fully ensuring the sovereignty and security of the country as required by the present situation,” according to the North’s official Korean Central News Agency.
The news agency provided no clarifications on whether North Korea would officially lift its moratorium on testing intercontinental ballistic missiles or nuclear weapons.
The background
President Donald Trump, who has met with the North Korean leader at two summit meetings, has repeatedly cited his “good relationship” with him. He has frequently cited the North’s testing moratorium as evidence that his policy of engaging with North Korea is working.
The second summit, held in
Vietnam in February, ended without an agreement, and North Korea later warned that Washington must offer a “new calculation” and create a breakthrough in the stalled negotiations by the end of the year.
The North has resumed weapons tests, launching 27 mostly short-range ballistic missiles and rockets since May and warning of more provocative tests to come. It warned this month that it was entirely up to the Trump administration “what Christmas gift it will select to get,” and conducted missile engine tests to bolster what it called its “nuclear deterrent.”
Washington has dismissed the Dec. 31 deadline as “artificial,” and has urged Pyongyang to maintain a dialogue and not revert to the provocations that had raised fears of war on the Korean Peninsula two years ago.
What’s next
North Korea has not been explicit about what might happen after the deadline expires, but Kim has warned of finding a “new way” if Washington does not remove the economic sanctions that have crippled his country’s economy or if it tries to force an unpalatable denuclearization deal.
Kim is set to deliver an annual speech on New Year’s Day, and analysts say he may officially reveal a major policy shift to be adopted at the party’s Central Committee. Like his father and grandfather before him, Kim has absolute control over the Workers’ Party, the military and all other levers of power.