Kim Jong Un calls for military preparedness as US slaps fresh sanctions

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has called for the military to be prepared for any provocation by enemies, especially in the backdrop of the launch of the spy satellite, state media KCNA said on Friday (Dec 1).

Wary of the enemies, Pyongyang has vowed to deploy armed forces and weapons in large numbers on its border with the South. A day earlier, Kim visited the Air Force headquarters and rolled out operational strategic guidelines to improve the military's readiness and war capabilities.

Add WION as a Preferred Source

"(Kim) highly evaluated the pilots' tight readiness to perform air combat missions without a glitch regardless of any unfavourable settings," KCNA said.

Kim's provocative stance comes hours after Washington announced fresh sanctions on North Korea for the launch of the spy satellite. US has repeatedly condemned the launch of the "Malligyong-1" spy satellite, calling it a "brazen violation" of UN sanctions.

On Thursday, the US Treasury Department said it was slapping sanctions, in coordination with Australia, Japan and South Korea on cyber espionage group Kimsuky, accusing it of gathering intelligence to support North Korea's strategic and nuclear ambitions.

"Today's actions by the United States, Australia, Japan, and the Republic of Korea reflect our collective commitment to contesting Pyongyang's illicit and destabilising activities," said Treasury's Under Secretary for Terrorism and Financial Intelligence, Brian Nelson.

"We will remain focused on targeting these key nodes in the DPRK's illicit revenue generation and weapons proliferation."

Watch |North Korea's Kim Jong-un examines spy satellite images of major target regions

Will not compromise sovereignty: Kim Yo Jong

Kim's statement of 'military preparedness' builds upon his sister Kim Yo Jong's comments, calling out the USA for its hypocrisy. The no. 2 in Pyongyang said the hermit nation would never sit to face Washington for negotiations over its sovereignty.

"We make it clear once again to the US, which asked the DPRK to fix the time and agenda for resuming the DPRK-US dialogue," Kim said.

"The sovereignty of an independent state can never be an agenda item for negotiations, and therefore, the DPRK will never sit face to face with the US for that purpose," she added.

Since the launch of the satellite, North Korea has claimed that its leader Kim Jong Unhas reviewed spy satellite photos of the White House, Pentagon and US aircraft carriers at the naval base of Norfolk.

(With inputs from agencies)