Kim Jong Un, the leader of North Korea, called for an expansion of the country’s nuclear capabilities during his visit to a nuclear materials production facility and a nuclear weapons institute, according to a report from North Korea’s state news agency KCNA, as cited by Reuters.
This visit, which highlights the ongoing growth of Pyongyang’s nuclear arsenal, comes as North Korea ramps up its military activities in an apparent effort to capture the attention of U.S. President Donald Trump following his return to office.
South Korean officials have suggested that recent missile tests were partly aimed at drawing Trump’s attention to the situation.
During his visit, Kim praised the scientists and workers at the facility, acknowledging their “remarkable successes” and “amazing production results” over the past year, as reported by KCNA.
He was briefed on the progress of weapons-grade nuclear material production as well as North Korea’s nuclear plans for 2025 and beyond, the news agency stated.
Kim underscored the importance of increasing the production of weapons-grade nuclear materials and further strengthening the country’s nuclear forces, highlighting 2025 as a critical year for the nation’s nuclear strategy.
“This year is a crucial year as it is an important watershed in which we should carry out the tasks in the important period in the course of implementing the line of bolstering up the nuclear forces,” Kim said, as quoted by KCNA.
In 2024, North Korea significantly increased its military rhetoric and conducted numerous missile launches. In early November, the country fired a ballistic missile toward the East Sea, only days after announcing the successful test of an intercontinental ballistic missile, which drew condemnation from South Korea, the United States, and Japan.
In mid-September, North Korea launched a barrage of short-range ballistic missiles.
President Trump, who held unprecedented summits with Kim during his first term and often highlights his relationship with the North Korean leader, recently stated that he would “reach out to him again.”
During Trump’s presidency, he met Kim three times—in Singapore, Hanoi, and at the Korean border. Despite these historic meetings, the diplomacy between the two leaders did not lead to any concrete outcomes.
The Biden administration attempted to engage with North Korea shortly after taking office, but North Korea did not respond to those diplomatic overtures.
In his first policy address to Congress, President Biden pointed to the nuclear programs of North Korea and Iran as significant threats that would be addressed through both “diplomacy and stern deterrence.”
{Matzav.com}
