North Korea: missile launches to start 2023, Kim calls for increasing nuclear arsenal

Kim Jong-un attends a ceremony on the sidelines of a Workers' Party plenary meeting in Pyongyang, North Korea, in this photo released January 1 via REUTERS - KCNA

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2 mins

North Korea started the year the same way it ended 2022: a ballistic missile launch and offensive declarations.

Kim Jong-un has called for an "

exponential

" increase in the country's nuclear arsenal to deal with the threat posed by the United States and South Korea, described as "

an indisputable enemy

".

Words that are far from announcing a potential lull on the Korean peninsula which saw a record number of missiles fired in 2022.

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With our correspondent in Seoul

,

Nicolas Rocca

North Korea let just under three hours into the New Year before

firing a ballistic missile

.

A symbol of the country's intentions for the next twelve months.

Closing the six-day meeting of the Workers' Party, Kim Jong-un revealed his military strategy for the coming year.

In addition to the "

exponential increase in the country's nuclear arsenal

", the North Korean leader announced the development of a new intercontinental ballistic missile capable of rapid nuclear strike.

Seoul, "

the indisputable enemy

"

Offensive announcements which are, according to him, a response to the provocations of the hostile forces.

Understand the numerous

military exercises of the United States, and South Korea

, which has now become "

the indisputable enemy

", while tensions have increased considerably since May and the arrival of the conservatives in power in Seoul.

“

We will respond to a nuclear attack with a nuclear attack, and to a total confrontation with a total confrontation

” also specified Kim Jong-un.

While his South Korean counterpart Yoon Suk-yeol doesn't seem ready to back down either, that doesn't inspire optimism for inter-Korean relations in 2023, the 70th year since the end of the war. Korean War.

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To read also:

 North Korea: "Going into a conflict is nobody's will"

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  • South Korea

  • North Korea

  • Kim Jong Un

  • Nuclear