Kim Jong-un Asks North Korea's Military To Increase Strength

Kim Jong-un (Instagram/@marshalkimjongun)

JAKARTA - North Korean leader Kim Jong-un called on his country's military to "increase in strength by all means to annihilate the enemy", state media said Friday, as new satellite imagery showed increased preparations for a possible nuclear test.

Jong-un made the remarks during a photo session with troops, state media broadcasters, and various parties involved in the massive military parade held on Monday.

The parade marks the 90th anniversary of the founding of the armed forces.

Photographs released by state media showed Kim riding a white horse and wearing a white military-style tunic with gold trim as he surveyed troops.

Monday's parade featured some of North Korea's newest missiles, including its largest intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM), the Hwasong-17, and a recently tested hypersonic missile.

The parade demonstrated "the modernity, heroism and rapid development of the North Korean armed forces and their matchless military and technological superiority", Jong-un told troops at the photo session, as quoted by state news agency KCNA.

North Korea says it is against war and that its weapons are in self-defense.

But at Monday's parade, Kim instead said his nuclear power's mission was more than preventing war, it included defending the country's "fundamental interests".

In March, North Korea again tested its largest ICBM, and there are signs it will soon test a nuclear weapon for the first time since 2017.

"Current satellite imagery shows that preparations are underway and should not be dismissed as insignificant activity", the US-based Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) said in a report Thursday.

South Korean and US observers and officials say North Korea appears to be updating Tunnel No. 3 at the Punggye-ri nuclear test site, which was used for underground nuclear explosions before being shut down in 2018 amid denuclearization talks with Washington and Seoul.

Jong-un has since said his country is no longer bound by a self-imposed test moratorium. However, North Korea has not commented on the test or confirmed its purpose.

Commercial satellite imagery from Monday's activity also showed construction of a new building, movement of lumber, and equipment and supply upgrades beyond the new entrance to Tunnel No. 3, said CSIS.

"The date of the seventh nuclear test will no doubt depend on Kim Jong Un's personal decision", the report said.