Seoul - North Korea's leader plans to
further develop nuclear programmes and to introduce a "new
strategic weapon" in the near future, state media said on
Wednesday, although he signalled there was still room for
dialogue with the United States.
Kim Jong Un presided over a four-day meeting of top Workers'
Party officials this week amid rising tensions with the United
States, which has not responded to his repeated calls for
concessions to reopen negotiations. Washington has dismissed the
deadline as artificial.
Kim said there were no grounds for North Korea to be bound
any longer by a self-declared moratorium on testing nuclear
bombs and intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBM), according
to a statement on the results of the policy meeting carried by
the official KCNA news agency.
At times smiling or striking the podium with his hand as he
made remarks during the meeting, Kim accused the United States
of making "gangster-like demands" and maintaining a "hostile
policy", such as by holding continued joint military drills with
South Korea, adopting cutting edge weapons and imposing
sanctions.
He pledged to continue bolstering his country's nuclear
deterrent but said the "scope and depth" of that deterrent will
be "properly co-ordinated depending on" the attitude of the
United States.
"The world will witness a new strategic weapon to be
possessed by the DPRK in the near future," Kim said, using the
initials for North Korea's official name - the Democratic
People's Republic of Korea.
"We will reliably put on constant alert the powerful nuclear
deterrent capable of containing the nuclear threats from the
U.S. and guaranteeing our long-term security."
U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said it would be "deeply
disappointing" if Kim reneges on denuclearisation commitments
and Kim would hopefully "choose peace and prosperity over
conflict and war."
In his latest comments on Tuesday in the United States,
President Donald Trump said he had a good relationship with Kim
and thought the North Korean leader would keep his word.
"He likes me, I like him. We get along. He's representing
his country, I'm representing my country. We have to do what we
have to do.
"But he did sign a contract, he did sign an agreement
talking about denuclearisation," Trump told reporters at his
Mar-a-Lago club in Florida.
Seoul's Unification Ministry in charge of inter-Korean
affairs said large-scale joint military drills with the United
States had been halted and it would be unhelpful for
negotiations if North Korea took action to introduce what it
called a new strategic weapon.
There were no official reports as of early afternoon on
Wednesday in South Korea that Kim had delivered an annual New
Year's address.
'STRATEGIC WEAPONS'
Kim had previously said he might have to seek a "new path"
if Washington failed to meet his expectations. U.S. military
commanders said Pyongyang's actions could include test firing an
ICBM alongside nuclear warhead tests. North Korea last test
fired an ICBM in 2017.
Jeffrey Lewis, a non-proliferation expert at the Middlebury
Institute of International Studies in California, said it was
difficult to predict North Korea's next move. But it might
involve firing a solid-fuel ICBM and an atmospheric nuclear
test, he said.
However, Jeong Han-beom, who teaches security policy at
Korea National Defense University in Seoul, said North Korea
would not immediately stage such a provocative act as an ICBM or
nuclear test because it could risk derailing negotiations.
Tension had been rising ahead of the year-end as North Korea
conducted a series of weapons tests and waged a war of words
with Trump.
The nuclear talks have made little headway despite three
meetings between Kim and Trump since 2018. Working-level talks
in Stockholm in October broke down, with a North Korean chief
negotiator accusing U.S. officials of sticking to their old
stance.
Kim said there will "never be denuclearisation on the Korean
peninsula" if Washington adheres to what he calls its hostile
policy.
We "will steadily develop necessary and prerequisite
strategic weapons for the security of the state until the U.S.
rolls back its hostile policy towards the DPRK and lasting and
durable peace-keeping mechanism is built," Kim said.
He called for North Koreans to brace for an "arduous and
prolonged struggle" and foster a self-reliant economy because of
a delay in the anticipated lifting of sanctions.
"The present situation warning of long confrontation with
the U.S. urgently requires us to make it a fait accompli that we
have to live under the sanctions by the hostile forces in the
future, too, and to strengthen the internal power from all
aspects."
Yang Moo-jin, a professor at the University of North Korean
Studies in Seoul, said the party assembly results made clear Kim
wants U.S. security guarantees before taking substantial action
toward denuclearisation.
"And he is suggesting that he will take the bull by the
horns to achieve that goal, while promoting self reliance at
home and still being open to talks depending on how Trump
handles 'hostile policy,'" Yang said.