Kim Jong-un isn't bored, he's alive, and has ordered another military revolution

Just a few days ago, rumors were still swirling that he had kicked the bucket, keeled over, choked on the red star — well, Kim is back, and he hasn't disappointed: he's playing war games again. This time Kim Jong-un ordered his army to train itself into the world's strongest armed force and to form a militarily and technically prepared elite unit within every one of its companies. Meanwhile, South Korean intelligence has also dismissed as false the online rumors circulating about the Pyongyang leader's death.

According to a statement issued on Saturday by North Korea's state news agency, KCNA, Kim called for a "military revolution" at a company commanders' conference held in Pyongyang on October 22–23, with the aim of fielding units capable of operating independently and at full combat readiness. The two-day event was the first all-army gathering of its kind since the party congress in February, at which the leadership, alongside strengthening conventional armed forces, also kept the development of the nuclear arsenal and missile program on the agenda. The military pep talk came just days after South Korea proposed talks on clarifying the military demarcation line running through the demilitarized zone, following further serious incidents in the area. The border is set out in the map annexed to the 1953 armistice, and Seoul's initiative was meant to ease tensions; Pyongyang, meanwhile, is talking about raising combat readiness and building the world's strongest army.

North Korea has also reported further weapons tests in recent times, including the trial of a precision-guided torpedo system which, according to KCNA, uses artificial intelligence to identify and track targets. Behind the threatening military rhetoric, moreover, lies direct involvement in an actual war: North Korea is supporting Russia's war against Ukraine with troops and weapons, while building closer military and economic cooperation with Moscow. So even after returning from his own reported death, Kim hasn't sought a new role for himself: he's sticking with rearmament, combat readiness, and the obligatory claim to being the best in the world.

Satire