N. Korean leader Kim vows to build nuclear force

October 8, 2017

SEOUL- North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has vowed to establish nuclear force in the nation, the state-run Korean Central News Agency reported Sunday.

At Saturday's meeting in Pyongyang of the Central Committee of the Workers' Party of Korea, Kim, chairman of the party, said that the country is determined to destroy the United States' nuclear war provocations and economic sanctions against North Korea.

Kim stressed that North Korea will simultaneously promote nuclear development and economic construction, adding that the country is determined to accomplish its historic mission of establishing national nuclear force.

The KCNA report did not mention specific military actions North Korea could take. But analysts said that the country may conduct such provocative actions as launching a ballistic missile in line with the 72nd anniversary of the party's founding on Tuesday.

North Korea has recently launched ballistic missiles without giving prior notice. The country conducted its sixth nuclear test on Sept. 3, claiming that it successfully detonated a hydrogen bomb that can be mounted on an intercontinental ballistic missile.

At Saturday's Central Committee meeting, major personnel reshuffles were decided, in an apparent move for a generation change, with Kim Yo Jong, younger sister of the North Korean leader and deputy head of the ruling party's Propaganda and Agitation Department, picked as candidate for a member of its Political Bureau.

The promotion of Kim Yo Jong, who was elected a Central Committee member only in May last year, apparently reflects her growing influence within the party, informed sources said.

Choe Ryong Hae, vice chairman of the Workers' Party of Korea, was appointed a member of the party's powerful Central Military Commission.

Foreign Minister Ri Yong Ho, who last month referred to the possibility of North Korea conducting a hydrogen bomb test in the Pacific Ocean, was picked as a Political Bureau member.

Cho Yon Jun, deputy head of the Central Committee's Organization and Guidance Department, was named chief of the committee's censorship department. Cho is believed to be one of those involved in the execution of Jang Song Thaek, uncle of Kim Jong Un, in 2013. Jiji Press