North Korea News: Kim Jong Un Looking To Increase Nuclear War Capabilities?

North Korea’s state-run KCNA news outlet reported Sunday that leader Kim Jong Un unveiled new policies to possibly increase the country’s nuclear warfare capabilities. Kim explained the new nuclear strategy at a meeting with military leaders.

“Set forth at the meeting were new policies for further increasing the nuclear war deterrence of the country and putting the strategic armed forces on a high alert operation,” KCNA reported. No details were provided on when the meeting was held, but it was likely Kim’s first public appearance since he inaugurated a fertilizer plant near North Korea’s capital earlier this month.

KCNA said the meeting "served as a historic turning point of great significance in increasing the capabilities of the revolutionary armed forces.” Participants during the meeting "reviewed and analyzed a series of drawbacks in the military and political activities of the overall armed forces of the (Democratic People’s Republic of Korea)."

Kim reportedly signed seven orders during the meeting and promoted the ranks of dozens of military generals. The meeting was an attempt to boost morale in the military, after Kim was reportedly absent from other recent public events, such as his grandfather’s birthday on April 15.

The meeting comes as nuclear diplomacy between the U.S. and North Korea is stalled. The U.S. wants Pyongyang to commit to a path of denuclearization, while North Korea wants the U.S. to relieve the sanctions crippling its economy. North Korean and American diplomats last met in October to discuss the issue, but negotiations fell through on the first day of talks.

President Trump has met Kim in Vietnam and Singapore for negotiations but failed to reach a comprehensive agreement. Earlier this year, North Korea said it was “deceived” by the U.S. due to the lack of progress in the nuclear negotiations, with Pyongyang promising to unveil a “new strategic weapon.”

Previous estimations by various security analysts have said the North Korean regime could have between 20 to 60 nuclear bombs. Siegfried Hecker, a Stanford University nuclear scientist, told the Wall Street Journal in July that North Korea could possibly produce six to seven nuclear bombs a year.

Former National Security Adviser John Bolton has claimed North Korea would never give up its nuclear program. Democrats such as presidential candidate Joe Biden have criticized U.S. diplomatic negotiations with Pyongyang as giving legitimacy to a rogue regime.