North Korea Considers Resuming ICBM and Nuclear Tests... "Full Review of Confidence-Building Measures" (Comprehensive)

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Lee Ji-eun] North Korea has announced that it is considering resuming intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) launches and nuclear tests, which had been suspended due to U.S. sanctions. This marks the withdrawal of the 'moratorium' declared in April 2018 after 3 years and 9 months.

On the 20th, the Korean Central News Agency reported that on the 19th, the Political Bureau of the Central Committee of the Workers' Party convened the 6th meeting of the 8th term with General Secretary Kim Jong-un in attendance to discuss the direction of response to the U.S.

The agency stated, "The Political Bureau meeting reissued national defense policy tasks to promptly strengthen and develop stronger physical means to firmly suppress the increasingly hostile acts against the DPRK by the U.S. It also instructed the relevant sectors to swiftly review the full reconsideration of confidence-building measures we had taken proactively and preliminarily, and to reactivate all activities that had been temporarily suspended."

The confidence-building measures taken preliminarily and the temporarily suspended activities refer to the declaration made at the plenary meeting of the Workers' Party Central Committee in April 2018, ahead of the Singapore DPRK-U.S. summit, to dismantle the nuclear test site and suspend nuclear tests and ICBM test launches.

The agency explained the reasons, stating, "Since the DPRK-U.S. summit, the U.S. has conducted hundreds of joint military exercises that they themselves pledged to suspend, carried out various strategic weapons tests, introduced advanced military attack means into South Korea, and deployed nuclear strategic weapons around the Korean Peninsula, severely threatening our nation's security."

It also evaluated that the U.S. has "committed reckless acts of imposing more than 20 unilateral sanctions measures while maliciously slandering our nation," and that the current Biden administration "persistently clings to schemes to weaken our right to self-defense." This decision to consider lifting the moratorium suggests a response to the Biden administration's recent unilateral sanctions against North Korea's missile launches.

The agency reported, "The Political Bureau assessed that despite our sincere efforts to maintain a major phase of easing tensions on the Korean Peninsula since the Singapore DPRK-U.S. summit, the U.S.'s hostile policy and military threats have reached a dangerous line that can no longer be tolerated," and concluded, "We must move to practical actions that more reliably and firmly strengthen our physical power to protect the nation's dignity, sovereignty, and interests."

Meanwhile, the Political Bureau meeting also discussed commemorations for the 110th anniversary of the birth of DPRK President Kim Il-sung and the 80th anniversary of the birth of National Defense Commission Chairman Kim Jong-il. The meeting adopted a resolution titled 'On Grandly Celebrating the 110th Anniversary of the Birth of the Great Leader Comrade Kim Il-sung and the 80th Anniversary of the Birth of the Great Leader Comrade Kim Jong-il.'