North Korean leader Kim Jong Un instructed commanders in Pyongyang to build the world’s strongest military force, North Korean state media reported Saturday, marking a defiant public appearance that followed days of unsubstantiated international rumors about his health.
Kim guided the Third Meeting of Company Leaders of the Korean People’s Army on Oct. 22 and 23, according to the state-run Korean Central News Agency. During his address to the assembled officers, Kim called on military branches to accelerate their self-sufficiency and prepare for independent combat operations.
“The basic spirit of the Third Meeting of Company Leaders of the Korean People’s Army is to build the strongest army and accelerate the Korean-style military revolution by training the strongest companies,” Kim said, as reported by KCNA.
Rebuffing health speculation
The public military gathering came shortly after baseless claims circulated widely across social media alleging that Kim had suffered a cerebral hemorrhage, fallen into a coma and died in a hospital in Beijing. The rumor originated from posts by Xie Wanjun, a U.S.-based Chinese dissident, according to South Korean media outlet Maeil Business Newspaper.
Concerns and speculation regarding Kim’s health have frequently surfaced over the years. Last month, South Korea’s National Intelligence Service informed the National Assembly that while the North Korean leader weighs around 140 kilograms and falls into a high-risk group for cardiovascular issues, he showed no signs of health problems, even jumping up stairs during a naval destroyer inspection, Maeil Business Newspaper reported.
Photographs and video broadcast earlier in the week also showed Kim attending an exhibition for clothing and footwear in Pyongyang on Oct. 19 alongside his wife and daughter.
Escalating cross-border friction
Kim’s speech followed a sharp rhetorical escalation from his sister, Kim Yo Jong, who issued direct warnings toward South Korea earlier in the week. Border tensions have mounted as North Korea erected anti-tank barriers, barbed wire, and landmines along the demilitarized zone.
Kim Yo Jong announced that tactical teams were preparing to resume border loudspeaker broadcasts targeting the South by the end of October, LADbible reported. Border loudspeakers from both sides had remained inactive for the past 16 months.
South Korean media also reported Saturday that Kim Jong Un visited the border city of Dandong in China after crossing a newly opened bridge, marking his first reported travel to the neighboring country in a year.
Senior North Korean defense officials joined Kim at the commanders’ conference, including Defense Minister Kim Sung-ki, General Staff Chief Ri Young-gil, and Central Military Commission Vice Chairman Park Jeong-cheon, KCNA reported. The meeting was the first military-wide gathering of its kind following the Ninth Congress of the Workers’ Party of Korea.
Whether Pyongyang will immediately follow Kim’s remarks with renewed weapon tests or border loudspeaker broadcasts remains to be seen as regional neighbors monitor the regime’s moves.
