North Korea, Kim Jong-un reappears and orders: "Prepare for war"

Kim Jong-un has ordered his military to increase drills and be ready to fight. Chairing the summit of the Central Military Commission of the ruling Workers' Party, the leader encouraged the armed forces to carry out "always victorious enterprises" and to show "unparalleled military strength" to open a new stage of development. According to reports from the official Korean Central News agency, the members of the Commission, who represent Kim's military leaders, discussed a series of tasks aimed at inducing a "major change" in the armed forces, including "expanding and steadily intensify combat operations and exercises” and “more rigorously refine war preparedness,” the agency said.

The Commission also discussed unspecified organizational changes to "improve and strengthen" military affairs and photos of the meeting released by state media show a flag representing a possible new department called the "General Office of Missiles". The summit was also the occasion to reveal that a military branch responsible for nuclear missiles has been redesignated and possibly reorganized, and that a new corps or other major unit has been created in October 2022.