Korea’s Kim Jong Un Pledges to Boost Military Effectiveness at Major Leadership Meeting

At a recent meeting involving the members of the both Central Military Commission and Central Committee of the ruling Korean Workers’ Party, as well as executive members of the Korean People's Army (KPA), it was reportedly agreed that efforts would be renewed to increase the effectiveness of the country’s armed forces. North Korean Leader Kim Jong Un pledged at the meeting that the People's Army had to strongly defend "the sovereignty and security of the country and protect the Party, revolutionary work, the interests of the state and people and the socialist construction.” Recent events in Korea and worldwide had reportedly been the cause for convening the meeting, although more precise details regarding the policies put into effect were not forthcoming. There are multiple indicators that modernisation of the KPA accelerated in recent years, with the country unveiling a range of new tactical weapons systems in 2020 including a new generation of battle tank - which may make it the fourth country in the world to develop a fourth generation tank after South Korea, Japan and Russia.

North Korea’s standing ground forces are among the largest in the world at 1.1 million personnel, with significant reserve units and the world’s largest special forces and paramilitary forces. The country is also one of the few that deploys ground mobile intercontinental range ballistic missiles - alongside China, India and Russia - and unveiled the largest missile of this kind in the world in 2020 which has been dubbed ‘Hwasong-16.’ Such missiles are seen as vital to providing a retaliatory strike capability against the United States mainland, with North Korea and the U.S. having been technically at war since 1950 and the U.S. having come close to launching mass nuclear strikes on the country several times since then. North Korea’s defence sector is among the most self reliant in the world, and aside from aviation it provides for almost all the country’s needs ranging from both tactical and and strategic submarines to rocket artillery systems and hypersonic short ranged missiles. The country has previously manufactured Russian MiG-29 fighter jets under license, and has developed indigenous light transport aircraft and drones.