Kim Jong-un Appears in Public After 37 Days
"Continuously Expanding and Strengthening Combat Training Operations"
[Asia Economy Reporter Jang Hee-jun] Kim Jong-un, Chairman of the State Affairs Commission of North Korea, appeared publicly for the first time this year. He held an expanded meeting of the Party Central Military Commission to discuss completing war readiness and expanding and strengthening operational combat training. Mentioning 'war readiness' from the beginning of the year and bringing up aggressive agenda items is interpreted as expressing a determination to thoroughly counter the ROK-US alliance, including the enhancement of extended deterrence capabilities.
According to the Korean Central News Agency on the 7th, the 4th expanded meeting of the 8th Party Central Military Commission was held the previous day at the Party Central Committee headquarters building. It has been about seven months since North Korea last convened the Party Central Military Commission, which was during the 3rd expanded meeting of the 8th term held over three days starting June 21 last year. It has also been 37 days since Chairman Kim appeared in public at the 600mm multiple rocket launcher presentation ceremony speech on December 31 last year.
The news agency reported, "Comrade Kim Jong-un led the 4th expanded meeting of the 8th Party Central Military Commission," and "prospective issues regarding the main military-political tasks and military construction directions for 2023 were discussed in depth."
It continued, "Issues concerning organizational and structural measures to fundamentally improve and strengthen military affairs, continuously expanding and strengthening operational combat training of the People's Army in response to the current situation, strictly completing war readiness, newly revising some provisions of the military internal regulations to meet the demands of current developments, and practical tasks to bring about a major transformation in military-political work were studied and discussed, and corresponding decisions were adopted."
Attending the expanded meeting were Ri Pyong-chol, Vice Chairman of the Party Central Military Commission, Ri Yong-gil, Commander of the People's Army General Staff, corps and major unit commanders, commanders of the Ministry of National Defense and other armed forces organs, and leading officials of the defense science research sector.
Chairman Kim personally presiding over the Central Military Commission and emphasizing 'responding to the current situation' and 'completing war readiness' appears to demonstrate a determination to closely monitor and thoroughly respond to the security situation on the Korean Peninsula, including the enhancement of extended deterrence and ROK-US joint exercises. Hong Min, head of the North Korea Research Division at the Korea Institute for National Unification, analyzed, "The phrase 'current situation' encompasses the ROK-US enhancement of extended deterrence, increased frequency of ROK-US-Japan exercises, the US-China confrontation phase, and the Russia-Ukraine war situation. The core of this meeting was discussing how to prepare war readiness accordingly." He added, "Making such discussions public from the beginning of the year signals that the issue of responding to the ROK-US alliance was discussed in depth through an organized system and decision-making process, and it also serves as a prior warning that responses will be made in line with readiness."
Yang Moo-jin, president of the University of North Korean Studies, said, "Considering the announcement of the plenary meeting convening the day before, it seems North Korea intends to pursue this year's national policy goals along two tracks: strengthening defense capabilities and the livelihood economy." Earlier, North Korea held a Political Bureau meeting of the Party Central Committee on the 5th and decided to convene the 7th plenary meeting of the 8th Party Central Committee later this month "to discuss agricultural issues and development goals for agriculture."
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