Kim Jong Un directs military to take war preparations

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has ordered the military, including its nuclear programme, to ‘accelerate’ war preparations.

Kim Jong Un made the directive while speaking at an ongoing meeting of the country’s ruling Workers’ Party on Thursday.

Kim also stressed that the ‘military situation’ on the Korean peninsula had become ‘extreme’ due to ‘unprecedented’ anti-North confrontations with the US. The state news agency did not go into detail on the preparations.

South Korea, Japan and the US  have deepened political and defence cooperation this year in the face of a record-breaking series of weapons tests by Pyongyang and recently activated a system to share real-time data on North Korean missile launches.

Earlier this month, a US nuclear-powered submarine arrived in the South Korean port city of Busan, and Washington has deployed its long-range bombers in drills with Seoul and Tokyo.