Kim Jong Un Orders Full-Scale War Prep, Reinforces Nuclear Forces Amid Rising Tensions

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un Kim ordered the full-scale war preparations and the reinforcement of his nuclear armament to the frontline battalion commanders. This move is seen as an attempt to rally anti-South Korean sentiment and stabilize internal unrest following reports of troop deployments to Russia.

On the second day of the two-day conference in Pyongyang, Kim delivered a speech titled “The Current Situation and the Duties of the Republic’s Military Battalion Commanders and Political Instructors,” according to a report by the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) on Monday.

Kim declared, “Strengthening our nuclear forces is an irreversible policy. We must maintain perfect operational readiness for our nuclear forces to fulfill their war deterrence mission at any moment. We will continue to enhance our national self-defense capabilities, centered on our nuclear forces, without limits or satisfaction.”

He identified the military cooperation between South Korea, the United States, and Japan as a major threat to regional peace and stability, “The U.S.-led military alliance is expanding to cover a wider area, including Europe and the Asia-Pacific region. U.S. and allied forces could appear under military alliances like NATO in the Korean region. Completing war preparations is an urgent task that cannot be delayed even for a day.” This marks Kim’s first direct criticism of the U.S. since the recent presidential election.

While blaming the U.S. and Western nations for the Ukraine conflict, Kim remained silent on North Korean military involvement, “The U.S. and the West initiated the war in Ukraine to broaden the scope of their military intervention globally. American war profiteers continue to provide military support to Ukraine and Israel, drawing many countries into conflict and pushing international security to the brink of a third world war.”

The conference, which brought together battalion commanders (ranging from captain to major, equivalent to a South Korean lieutenant colonel) and political instructors responsible for ideological education, was the first such gathering of frontline officers in a decade. The last one was in November 2014.

South Korean officials noted the emphasis on justifying the Ukraine war during this rare meeting. A senior Ministry of Unification official explained, “Given the reports of Russian troop deployments in North Korea, it appears they aimed to boost military morale by inciting hostility.” The president of the University of North Korean Studies, Yang Moo Jin, analyzed that this reflects “an intention to preemptively control dissent and instability while also signaling pressure on South Korea by referencing nuclear capabilities.”