N. Korea to launch 3 more military spy satellites next year: state media

The Korean Central News Agency reported on Sunday that North Korea's year-end plenary meeting, which had been held since Dec. 26, concluded on Saturday. (Yonhap)

North Korea aims to launch three additional spy satellites next year, the North's state media reported Sunday, after the successful launch of the country's first military reconnaissance satellite last month.

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un set forth the goal as he wrapped up five days of the plenary meeting of the Central Committee of the Workers' Party of Korea on Saturday, according to the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA).

"Based on the experience of successfully launching and operating the first spy satellite in 2023 in the space development sector, the task of launching three more spy satellites in 2024 was unveiled and all-out measures to spur the development of the space science technology were discussed," the KCNA said.

The North successfully put a military spy satellite, named the Malligyong-1, into orbit on Nov. 21 after two failed attempts in May and August. There are suspicions that North Korea might have received technical support from Russia in return for its arms supplies for use in Moscow's war in Ukraine.

"We need to swiftly respond to a possible nuclear crisis and mobilize all physical means, including nuclear force, in a bid to accelerate preparations for the great event of putting the entire territory of South Korea under our control," Kim said.

He also said strengthening the country's nuclear arsenal is the top policy priority for next year and ordered the Navy to enhance its military capabilities, the KCNA said.

Kim called for developing powerful unmanned armed aerial vehicles and means for electronic warfare in a bid to accomplish its key defense projects.

In regard to inter-Korean ties, Kim said he will no longer consider South Korea a counterpart for reconciliation and unification, saying Seoul has declared the North as a main enemy. The Workers' Party has also concluded that unification with South Korea is not possible, Kim was quoted as saying.

Calling for a "fundamental change" in dealing with South Korea, the North's leader said that inter-Korean relations have become those of "two hostile countries" or "countries engaged in state of combat."

Relations between South and North Korea remained sharply strained this year, as North Korea focused on advancing its nuclear and missile programs, including the launch of solid-fuel intercontinental ballistic missiles.

The North's leader vowed an "offensive and ultra-powerful" stance against the U.S. in 2024, denouncing Washington's deployment of strategic assets to the Korean Peninsula and its military drills with Seoul.

"If the U.S. and the South pursue military confrontations with us, we will not hesitate to take a critical action against them with our nuclear deterrence," Kim said.

In September, North Korea amended the constitution to enshrine the policy of strengthening its nuclear force. Last year, the country enacted a new nuclear law authorizing the preemptive use of nuclear arms, calling its status as a nuclear state "irreversible."

At last year's party plenary meeting, Kim called South Korea an "undoubted enemy" and called for an "exponential" increase in the country's nuclear arsenal and the development of tactical nuclear weapons.