Asia-Pacific
Kim Jong Un calls for a “military revolution” as Seoul proposes military talks
Kim Jong Un told a two-day meeting of North Korean company commanders to turn the army’s companies into elite, self-reliant fighting units. Seoul formally proposed military talks to Pyongyang on the same day.
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un called on the country’s army companies to be turned into elite, self-reliant fighting units, at a two-day meeting of company commanders in Pyongyang. “Let us build the strongest army and accelerate a military revolution in our own way,” he said, according to the speech published on Saturday by the state agency KCNA.
The Third Meeting of Company Leaders of the Korean People’s Army, held on October 22 and 23, was, according to KCNA, the first army-wide meeting since the 9th Congress of the ruling party in February. Kim asked every company to prepare fully so that “the goal of building the military of the new era” is achieved. At the same congress, which sets the country’s course for the next five years, he had called for stronger conventional forces and confirmed the continuation of the nuclear weapons and missile programmes.
Seoul’s proposal for military talks
On Friday, October 23, the last day of the meeting, South Korea formally proposed military talks with the North. Deputy Defence Minister for Policy Kim Hong-cheol said the Defence Ministry “formally proposes holding military talks”, so that the two sides can “jointly confirm the exact position” of the Military Demarcation Line, restore military communication lines and prevent unintended clashes.
Trilateral talks involving the United Nations Command “would also be possible”, he added, while “specific dates and venues could be discussed through Panmunjom”. Seoul hopes for a “positive response from North Korea”, although the ministry recalled that a proposal for talks last year received no answer from Pyongyang.
Tension after the DMZ blast
The proposal comes at a time of tension. In September an explosion inside the Demilitarized Zone injured three South Korean soldiers; Seoul blamed North Korean mines, which Pyongyang denies. On Monday North Korea described the situation on the border as “serious” and said it was considering deploying additional “tactical strike means”. On Tuesday the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Jin Yong-sung, ordered forces to respond with “firm resolve” if the North uses Seoul’s actions as a pretext for an attack.
On Thursday Kim Yo Jong announced that psychological-warfare loudspeakers would be put on standby at the border “within a few days” and that new units had moved to “firing positions”, while the South Korean Foreign Ministry said it would send a letter to the president of the UN Security Council about the mine incident, speaking of a “clear violation of the armistice agreement”. Seoul has already warned of “decisive punishment” for new provocations.
