North Korea initiated a significant political conference on June 16 led by Kim Jong Un, to discuss the challenges of its ailing economy and review defense strategies amidst increasing tensions with adversaries, AP News reports.
Following the United States' deployment of a nuclear-powered submarine to South Korea as a show of allied strength against North Korea's escalating missile tests, including those capable of carrying nuclear warheads, the ruling Workers' Party's Central Committee held an expanded plenary session.
On the first day of the conference, which lasted for at least one more day, party officials examined the country's economic initiatives for the first half of 2023 and discussed foreign policy and defense strategies to adapt to the changing international situation, as reported by the official Korean Central News Agency.
North Korea responded to joint U.S. and South Korean live-fire exercises near the inter-Korean border by launching two short-range ballistic missiles into its eastern seas. The subsequent arrival of the U.S. ship "Michigan" in the South Korean port of Busan paved the way for joint military exercises aimed at enhancing special operations and collaborative combat capabilities to counter growing North Korean threats.
North Korea criticized these joint exercises as a rehearsal for invasion and showcased its own arsenal, including testing nearly 100 missiles since early 2022.
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