The report of the military meeting comes on the heels of speculation that North Korea is poised to conduct its third nuclear test. The North has threatened to detonate a nuclear device in retaliation for the U.N. Security Council's resolution condemning its Dec. 12 long-range rocket launch.
On Friday, in the latest sign that the communist state was preparing for a nuclear test, sources here said the North has put a screen over the entrance to the western tunnel of the test site in Punggye-ri in the North's northeastern tip in an apparent attempt to block outside monitoring of the detonation.
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Pyongyang's official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA), monitored in Seoul, said Kim presided over an "enlarged meeting" of the Central Military Commission of the ruling Workers' Party. The KCNA's English-language dispatch did not specify when or where the meeting was held, but said members of the commission and commanding officers of the large combined units, including the navy, air force and strategic rocket force, were present.
"Kim Jong-un made an important concluding speech, which serves as guidelines for further strengthening the (North's Korean People's Army) into a matchless revolutionary army of Mt. Paektu and defending the security and sovereignty of the country as required by the (Workers' Party) and the developing revolution," the KCNA said.
The report added the participants also discussed "the issue of bringing about a great turn in bolstering up the military capability," in line with the country's "songun," or military-first policy.
President Lee Myung-bak, meanwhile, ordered government agencies Sunday to be on the alert as North Korea inches toward the nuclear test.
Lee made an unannounced visit to the underground bunker of the presidential compound Cheong Wa Dae, which serves as the national crisis management center, said Park Jung-ha, the president's spokesman.
Lee called on all government offices to keep close tabs on North Korean moves and urged them to be prepared for contingencies.
Lee was briefed by Chun Yung-woo, the senior presidential security secretary, and Ahn Kwang-chan, the head of Cheong Wa Dae's office for national crisis management, on the latest indications of a North Korean nuclear test and other developments in the North Korean military.
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As speculation runs rampant that a nuclear test is imminent, Seoul and Beijing have put pressure on North Korea to abandon its test plan.
Lim Sung-nam, South Korea's chief nuclear envoy, will fly to China later Sunday for consultations with his Chinese counterpart, Wu Dawei, according to a South Korean foreign ministry official.
"Lim will have talks on North Korean and nuclear matters in China," the official said, adding that Lim is expected to return home on Tuesday.
Diplomatic sources said Lim and Wu will meet in Beijing on Monday to discuss measures to deter North Korea from carrying out further provocations.
"We will assess North Korea's recent action following the adoption of the U.N. Security Council Resolution 2087 and talk about our response," Lim told Yonhap News Agency via phone before his departure. "I will have in-depth and broad consultations with China, the chair of the six-party talks."
Lim is expected to stress that denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula is a prerequisite for peace and stability, and that a third North Korean nuclear test will put security of the rest of the region in danger.
Lim could also talk about the need for a stern response from the international community to another nuclear test by the North.
Lee Kyu-hyung, the South Korean ambassador to Beijing, has already met with Wu and other senior Chinese diplomats, and asked them to help deter North Korea from carrying out the nuclear test, sources in Beijing said Sunday.
Multiple diplomatic sources in Beijing said the Chinese foreign ministry has summoned Ji Jae-ryong, the North Korean ambassador to China, on multiple occasions since Pyongyang declared its intentions on Jan. 24 to conduct the nuclear test.
China expressed concerns that North Korea has abandoned its denuclearization efforts and has urged Pyongyang to "hold off" on plans for the nuclear test, the sources said, adding the Chinese officials also asked the North Koreans to "make the right decision," since its third nuclear test would generate an unprecedented amount of tension on the Korean Peninsula.
China has decided not to make these summons public, given its close ties with North Korea, the sources said.
Despite rumors that China could dispatch a high-level special envoy to Pyongyang to prevent the nuclear test, there has been no indication that high-ranking officials from either side of the border have made the trip.
jeeho@yna.co.kr
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