Prepare for possible ‘war’

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un wrapped up the year with fresh threats of a nuclear attack on Seoul and orders for a military arsenal build-up to prepare for a war that can "break out any time" on the peninsula, state media reported yesterday.

Kim lambasted the United States during a lengthy speech at the end of five days of year-end party meetings that set his country's military, political and economic policy decisions for 2024.

The meeting announced plans for further military development in the coming year, including launching three more spy satellites, building unmanned drones and developing electronic warfare capabilities, as well as strengthening nuclear and missile forces, according to the state media agency KCNA.

This year, Pyongyang successfully launched a reconnaissance satellite, enshrined its status as a nuclear power in its constitution and test-fired the most advanced intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) in its arsenal.

Kim accused the United States of posing "various forms of military threat" and ordered his armed forces to maintain the "overwhelming war response capability", according to KCNA's account of the meeting that ended on Saturday.