Page 26 - 2020 Defence White Paper
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Section


                               3       North Korean Situation and

                                       Military Threats


                            Since State Affairs Commission Chairman Kim Jong-un took office in 2011, North
                            Korea has declared the completion of "state nuclear capability" in 2017 by focusing its
                            capabilities on advancing nuclear and missile capabilities, advocating the "Byungjin"
                            policy of simultaneously developing its economy and nuclear weapons. In 2018,
                            North Korea introduced the "line to focus all efforts on economic construction" as
                            a new strategic line and pursued active summit diplomacy, advocating the goal of
                            denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula. However, the deadlock in denuclearization
                            negotiations has been prolonged since the breakdown of the US–North Korea Hanoi
                            Summit in 2019. While in 2020, even in a situation of deepening economic difficulties due
                            to COVID-19 and sanctions, North Korea is seeking to strengthen its operational posture
                            through the enhancement of its nuclear and missile capabilities and reinforcement of
                            selective conventional forces on the pretext of strengthening its self-defensive military
                            power.






                            1. North Korean Situation



                            Internal Situation  Since State Affairs Commission Chairman Kim Jong-un
                                                took off ce in 2011, North Korea has focused on advancing
                            its nuclear and missile capabilities. It declared the completion of "state nuclear
                            capability" in 2017 after launching various types of ballistic missiles and conducting
                            its sixth nuclear test. In the 2018 New Year’s address, Pyongyang emphasized the
                            legitimacy of its "Byungjin" policy of simultaneously developing its economy and
                            nuclear capabilities and highlighted the mass production and field deployment of
                            nuclear warheads and ballistic rockets.
                             At the 3rd Plenary Meeting of the 7th Central Committee of the Workers’ Party of
                            Korea on April 20, 2018, North Korea declared the success of the "Byungjin" policy
                            and officialized the "line to focus all efforts on constructing a socialist economy"
                            as its new strategic line. In the 2019 New Year’s message, it emphasized economic
                            construction through "self-reliance" and declared that it would not produce, test,
                            use, or proliferate nuclear weapons while expressing its resolve for complete
                            denuclearization.
                             Chairman Kim emphasized the "economic construction through the reinforcement




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