Seoul: During a speech at a key political summit this week, North Korean leader Kim Jong Un pledged to strengthen his military capabilities, maintain stringent anti-virus measures, and work diligently to improve the economy, according to official media.

Kim's address was reported by official media without any mention of relations with the United States or South Korea. According to some experts, this indicates that Kim has no intention of reopening discussions with Washington and Seoul anytime soon, preferring instead to keep his country's borders closed while pursuing a self-sufficient economy to tackle pandemic-related issues.

According to the official Korean Central News Agency, "the increasingly unstable military situation on the Korean Peninsula and worldwide politics have prompted calls to forcefully push through with our national defence build-up programmes without delay."

To boost his armed forces, Kim ordered the creation of powerful, sophisticated weapons systems and demanded the military's "total loyalty and allegiance" to the ruling party led by him.

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