Kim Jong Un Calls for Elite, Self-Sufficient Army Units — SkimNews
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- Kim Jong Un called for North Korea’s army companies to be turned into elite, self-sufficient combat units.
- The company commanders’ conference convened in Pyongyang on October 22-23; KCNA described it as the army’s first military-wide gathering since the ruling party’s Ninth Congress in February.
- Kim Jong Un told every company to prepare fully for “the goal of the new-era military build-up,” saying, “Let us build the strongest army and speed up a military revolution in our style.”
- The February Ninth Congress set North Korea’s direction for the next five years; Kim called there for stronger conventional armed forces and reaffirmed efforts to develop nuclear weapons and missiles.
Why it matters: Kim’s directive gives North Korea’s five-year military build-up an operational focus: every army company must prepare for elite, self-sufficient combat. For commanders at the October 22-23 meeting, that places the February Ninth Congress’s broad direction at the unit level alongside commitments to stronger conventional forces, nuclear weapons and missiles.
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