Day of Reckoning
South Korea’s democracy has faced yet another stern test with the impeachment of President Yoon Suk Yeol, a polarising figure whose ill-conceived martial law decree plunged the nation into a constitutional crisis.
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un on Saturday presided over a Central Military Commission meeting and discussed “new policies for further increasing the nuclear war deterrence of the country”, according to the media report on Sunday.
“Set forth at the meeting were new policies for further increasing the nuclear war deterrence of the country and putting the strategic armed forces on a high alert operation in line with the general requirements for the building and development of the armed forces of the country,” the KCNA was quoted as saying by the Yonhap News Agency.
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It did not elaborate what the “new policies” for nuclear deterrence were.
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Kim had been out of the public eye for weeks before reappearing to mark the opening of a fertilizer factory on May 1, prompting rumors about his health and possible surgery.
“Taken at the meeting were crucial measures for considerably increasing the firepower strike ability of the artillery pieces of the Korean People’s Army,” it added.
The North Korean leader last presided over a Central Military Commission meeting in December 2019.
On April 15, Pyongyang marked the birthday of its late founder, Kim’s grandfather Kim Il Sung, — by far the most important date in its annual political calendar. Kim was not seen in attendance, raising speculations about his health.
Kim was gravely ill following heart surgery last month.
Soon afterwards, CNN reported that Washington was “monitoring intelligence” that Kim was in “grave danger” after undergoing surgery, quoting what it said was an anonymous US official.
Earlier, in 2014 he dropped out of sight for nearly six weeks before reappearing with a cane. Days later, the South’s spy agency said he had undergone surgery to remove a cyst from his ankle.
The North Korean leader Kim Jong- Un is the Supreme leader of North Korea after he took over in 2011 when his father and late leader Kim Jong-il died.
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