By Hyunsu Yim
SEOUL (Reuters) – North Korean leader Kim Jong Un held a key political meeting of the country’s ruling party last week ahead of the start of the new year, state media KCNA reported on Sunday.
The meeting of party and government officials decided that North Korea would initiate the “toughest” strategy to counter the United States for security reasons and national interests, the report said, without elaborating.
The alliance between South Korea, the US and Japan has expanded into a “nuclear military bloc” and South Korea has become an “anti-communist outpost” for the US, the KCNA report added.
“This reality clearly shows the direction in which we are moving forward and what we should do and how.”
According to the report, the Dec. 23-27 meeting also discussed dealing with the floods earlier this year, including a plan to move those affected to the capital Pyongyang.
The reclusive state also promised during the meeting to promote relations with “friendly” countries.
Kim also called for advances in defense science and technology to strengthen the country’s war deterrence.
Such meetings often last a few days and have been used in recent years to make important policy announcements.
In a reshuffle, Pyongyang named party secretary Pak Thae Song as the new prime minister, replacing Kim Tok Hun.
Foreign Minister Choe Son Hui was appointed a member of the party’s powerful Central Committee Politburo.
The 11th plenary session of the Eighth Central Committee of the Workers’ Party of Korea caps a year in which Russian President Vladimir Putin held a summit with Kim and signed an agreement that included a mutual defense pledge.
Washington and Seoul have criticized the two countries’ military cooperation, including sending North Korean troops to fight for Russia in the war against Ukraine.
