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NORTH Korean leader Kim Jong Un has said Pyongyang has allocated "special assets" to key military targets in response to the growing presence of United States forces on the Korean Peninsula, warning that adversaries should be “concerned” about the evolving regional security landscape.
Speaking at a military exhibition ahead of the 80th anniversary of the founding of the Workers’ Party of Korea, Kim stated: “In direct proportion to the buildup of US forces in Korea, our strategic interest in the region has also increased, and we have accordingly allocated special assets to key targets of interest.”
“I believe our enemies should be concerned about the direction their security environment is evolving,” he added, as reported by state media outlet KCNA on Sunday.
Kim also signalled that Pyongyang would continue enhancing its military capabilities. “We will undoubtedly develop additional military measures” to counter what he characterised as growing external threats, though he did not provide further detail.
The remarks come amid heightened tensions in the region, with Washington reinforcing military deployments in South Korea and the wider Indo-Pacific in response to evolving North Korean missile activity and its increasingly close military cooperation with Russia.
Seoul officials allege that Pyongyang has been supplying Moscow with artillery and troops in support of Russian President Vladimir Putin’s war in Ukraine, a claim both Pyongyang and Moscow have not confirmed.
Kim has also intensified strategic ties with China, recently travelling to Beijing to attend a military parade marking the 80th anniversary of the end of the Second World War, where he appeared alongside Chinese President Xi Jinping and President Putin.
Analysts view the strengthening trilateral ties between Pyongyang, Moscow and Beijing as a coordinated signal to counterbalance US-led influence in the region. - October 5, 2025