North Korea vows military buildup 2 weeks before Biden takes office

Kim seeks new economic path at party congress as pressure builds

20210107 kim jong un

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un attends the Workers' Party congress in Pyongyang, in this photo supplied by the regime's Korean Central News Agency. © Reuters

KIM JAEWON, Nikkei staff writer

SEOUL -- North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has vowed to strengthen his country's military power, putting U.S. President-elect Joe Biden on notice two weeks before his inauguration.

Kim, speaking at the Workers' Party of Korea's ongoing congress, emphasized the need to bolster his armed forces' capabilities after a rare admission that Pyongyang's economic policies had failed, the North's media mouthpiece reported on Thursday.

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