SEOUL - North Korea hinted Thursday it could resume nuclear and long-range weapons tests as it prepares for “confrontation” with Washington, its latest threat after a string of sanctions-busting missile launches.
Pyongyang has not tested inter-continental ballistic missiles or nukes since 2017, putting launches on hold as leader Kim Jong Un embarked on a blitz of high-level diplomacy, meeting then-US president Donald Trump three times before talks collapsed two years later.
Since then, the nuclear-armed North has rebuffed US offers of talks while restarting some testing, including of hypersonic missiles, as Kim pursues his avowed goal of further strengthening his military. When Washington imposed fresh sanctions last week, Pyongyang said it was a “provocation” and ramped up conventional weapons tests, vowing a “stronger and certain” response to efforts to rein it in.
“The hostile policy and military threat by the US have reached a danger line that can not be overlooked any more,” a report on a meeting of the country’s Politburo in state media KCNA said Thursday. The North’s top officials “unanimously recognized that we should make more thorough preparation for a long-term confrontation with the US imperialists,” KCNA reported. This includes examining restarting all temporarily-suspended activities, the report added.
The potential resumption of tests of nuclear weapons and long-range ballistic missiles capable of hitting the continental United States come at a delicate time in the region, with Kim’s sole major ally China set to host the Winter Olympics next month and South Korea gearing up for a presidential election in March.