NORTH KOREAN LEADER Kim Jong Un has said his country will launch three additional military spy satellites, build more nuclear weapons and introduce modern unmanned combat equipment in 2024.

State media reported his call for “overwhelming” war readiness.

Kim’s comments were made during a ruling Workers’ Party meeting to set state goals for next year.

During the five-day meeting, which ended yesterday, the official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) reported that Kim said moves by the US and its allies against North Korea have been unprecedented this year, pushing the Korean Peninsula to the brink of a nuclear war.

“The grave situation requires us to accelerate works to acquire overwhelming war response capabilities and thorough and perfect military readiness to suppress any types of provocations by the enemies at a stroke,” he said, according to KCNA.

He set forth plans to fire three more military spy satellites in 2024 in addition to the country’s first reconnaissance satellite launched in November.

He also ordered authorities to press ahead with work to manufacture more nuclear weapons and develop various types of modern unmanned combat equipment such as armed drones and powerful electronic warfare devices, KCNA said.

Kim has been focusing on modernising his nuclear and missile arsenals since his high-stakes nuclear diplomacy with then-US president Donald Trump broke down in 2019 due to wrangling over international sanctions on the North.

Since last year, the country’s military has test-fired more than 100 ballistic missiles, many of them nuclear-capable weapons targeting the mainland US and South Korea, in violation of UN bans.

The US and South Korea responded by expanding their military exercises and deploying US strategic assets such as bombers, aircraft carriers and a nuclear-armored submarine. North Korea calls the moves US-led invasion rehearsals.

South Korea’s spy agency said last week that North Korea will likely launch military provocations and cyberattacks ahead of its neighbour’s parliamentary elections in April and the US presidential election in November.