North Korea's Kim vows to make his nuclear force ready for combat with US

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — North Korean leader Kim Jong Un vowed to redouble efforts to make his nuclear force fully ready for combat with the United States and its allies, state media reported Tuesday, after the country disclosed a new platform likely designed to fire more powerful intercontinental ballistic missiles targeting the mainland U.S.

Kim has repeatedly made similar pledges, but his latest threat comes as outside experts believe Kim will perform provocative weapons tests ahead of the U.S. presidential election in November. In recent days, North Korea has also resumed launches of trash-carrying balloons toward South Korea.

In a speech marking the 76th founding anniversary for his government on Monday, Kim said North Korea faces “a grave threat” because of what he called “the reckless expansion” of a U.S.-led regional military bloc that is now developing into a nuclear-based one. Kim said such a development is pushing North Korea to boost its military capability, according to the official Korean Central News Agency.

Kim said North Korea will “redouble its measures and efforts to make all the armed forces of the state including the nuclear force fully ready for combat,” KCNA said.

North Korea has been protesting the July signing of a new U.S.-South Korean defense guideline meant to integrate U.S. nuclear weapons and South Korean conventional weapons to cope with growing North Korean nuclear threats. North Korea said the guideline revealed its adversaries’ plots to invade the country. U.S. and South Korean officials have repeatedly said they don't intend to attack the country.

Since 2022, North Korea has significantly accelerated its weapons testing activities in a bid to perfect its capabilities to launch strikes on the U.S. and South Korea. The U.S. and South Korea have responded by expanding military drills that North Korea calls invasion rehearsals.

Many analysts believe North Korea has some last remaining technological barriers to overcome to acquire long-range nuclear missiles that can reach the U.S. mainland, though it likely already possesses missiles that can hit key targets in South Korea and Japan.

South Korean officials and experts say North Korea could conduct nuclear tests or ICBM test-launches before the U.S. election to increase its leverage in future diplomacy with the U.S. Observers say North Korea likely thinks a greater nuclear capability would help it win U.S. concessions like sanctions relief.

North Korea as of Tuesday morning did not appear to have staged any major military demonstration to mark this year’s anniversary. But the North's main Rodong Sinmun newspaper on Sunday published a photo of Kim inspecting what appeared to be a 12-axle missile launch vehicle, which would be the largest the country has shown so far, during a visit to a munitions plant. This sparked speculation that the North could be developing a new ICBM that is bigger than its current Hwasong-17 ICBM, which is launched on an 11-axle vehicle.

When asked about the photo on Monday, Pentagon spokesperson Maj. Gen. Pat Ryder refused to provide a specific assessment of North Korea’s missile capabilities and reiterated that Washington was working closely with Seoul, Tokyo and other partners to preserve regional security and deter potential attacks.

“It’s not unusual for North Korea to use media reports and imagery to try to telegraph, you know, to the world,” he said.

North Korea flew hundreds of huge balloons carrying rubbish toward South Korea for five straight days through Sunday, extending a Cold War-style psychological warfare campaign that has further stoked animosities on the Korean Peninsula. The balloons largely contained waste papers and vinyl, and there has been no repots of major damage.

North Korea began its balloon campaign in late May, calling it a response to South Korean civilians flying propaganda leaflets across the border via their own balloons. South Korea later restarted its anti-Pyongyang propaganda loudspeaker broadcasts along the rivals' tense land border.

Observers say North Korea is extremely sensitive to South Korean leafleting activities and loudspeaker broadcasts as they could hamper its efforts to ban foreign news to its 26 million people.

North Korean dance during an evening gala as they celebrate the country's 76th founding anniversary at Kim Il Sung Square in Pyongyang, North Korea Sunday, Sept. 8, 2024. (AP Photo/Cha Song Ho)

North Korean youth and students perform during an evening gala as they celebrate the country's 76th founding anniversary at Kim Il Sung Square in Pyongyang, North Korea Sunday, Sept. 8, 2024. (AP Photo/Jon Chol Jin)

North Koreans perform during an evening gala as they celebrate the country's 76th founding anniversary at Kim Il Sung Square in Pyongyang, North Korea Sunday, Sept. 8, 2024. (AP Photo/Jon Chol Jin)

A national flag is hoisted during a celebration ceremony of the country's 76th founding anniversary at Kim Il Sung Square in Pyongyang, North Korea Sunday, Sept. 8, 2024. (AP Photo/Jon Chol Jin)

North Koreans celebrate the country's 76th founding anniversary at Kim Il Sung Square in Pyongyang, North Korea Sunday, Sept. 8, 2024. (AP Photo/Jon Chol Jin)

North Korean dance during an evening gala as they celebrate the country's 76th founding anniversary at Kim Il Sung Square in Pyongyang, North Korea Sunday, Sept. 8, 2024. (AP Photo/Jon Chol Jin)

North Koreans celebrate the country's 76th founding anniversary at Kim Il Sung Square in Pyongyang, North Korea Sunday, Sept. 8, 2024. (AP Photo/Cha Song Ho)

Pyongyang citizens pay respect to the statues of their late leaders Kim Il Sung and Kim Jong Il on Mansu Hill on the occasion of the country's 76th founding anniversary in Pyongyang, North Korea Monday, Sept. 9, 2024. (AP Photo/Jon Chol Jin)

Pyongyang citizens pay respect to the statues of their late leaders Kim Il Sung and Kim Jong Il on Mansu Hill on the occasion of the country's 76th founding anniversary in Pyongyang, North Korea Monday, Sept. 9, 2024. (AP Photo/Jon Chol Jin)

Pyongyang citizens pay respect to the statues of their late leaders Kim Il Sung, left, and Kim Jong Il on Mansu Hill on the occasion of the country's 76th founding anniversary in Pyongyang, North Korea Monday, Sept. 9, 2024. (AP Photo/Cha Song Ho)

North Koreans march with their nationa flag as they celebrate the country's 76th founding anniversary at Kim Il Sung Square in Pyongyang, North Korea Sunday, Sept. 8, 2024. (AP Photo/Jon Chol Jin)

North Koreans celebrate the country's 76th founding anniversary at Kim Il Sung Square in Pyongyang, North Korea Sunday, Sept. 8, 2024. (AP Photo/Jon Chol Jin)

North Koreans celebrate the country's 76th founding anniversary at Kim Il Sung Square in Pyongyang, North Korea Sunday, Sept. 8, 2024. (AP Photo/Jon Chol Jin)

In this photo provided by the North Korean government, North Korean leader Kim Jong Un delivers a speech, marking the country's 76th founding anniversary in Pyongyang, North Korea Monday, Sept. 9, 2024. Independent journalists were not given access to cover the event depicted in this image distributed by the North Korean government. The content of this image is as provided and cannot be independently verified. Korean language watermark on image as provided by source reads: "KCNA" which is the abbreviation for Korean Central News Agency. (Korean Central News Agency/Korea News Service via AP)

In this photo provided by the North Korean government, North Korean leader Kim Jong Un delivers a speech, marking the country's 76th founding anniversary in Pyongyang, North Korea Monday, Sept. 9, 2024. Independent journalists were not given access to cover the event depicted in this image distributed by the North Korean government. The content of this image is as provided and cannot be independently verified. (Korean Central News Agency/Korea News Service via AP)

BRUSSELS (AP) — European Union chief Ursula von der Leyen is expected to unveil the members of her new team for the next five-year tenure at the head of the bloc on Tuesday.

But it has been a tumultuous ride to get it ready for office — the search for the 26 members of her college was chaotic and scandal-ridden even before the parliament is to start hearings on whether to accept each proposed candidate.

French heavyweight Thierry Breton resigned and openly criticized von der Leyen for allegedly “questionable governance” on Monday and accused her of backroom machinations to oust him.

Many saw his shock resignation more as a removal by von der Leyen of one of her most open internal critics after exerting pressure on French authorities.

Compounding such problems was the defiance of many of the 27 member states as von der Leyen struggled to get anywhere close to gender parity on her Commission team — they staunchly refused to give her a choice between a male and a female candidate.

After days of secret talks with individual European governments about their picks, von der Leyen huddled with the leaders of the political groups at the European Parliament in Strasbourg, France, to discuss the makeup of her college.

Her full announcement was expected later Tuesday.

Even if the Commission's makeup has hardly become the talk of bar rooms or barber shops across the vast EU of 450 million people, it has enthralled the upper echelons of politics and bureaucracy, as they sought to boost one candidate or undermine another.

The Commission proposes legislation for the EU’s 27 member countries and ensures that the rules governing the world’s biggest trading bloc are respected. It’s made up of a College of Commissioners with a range of portfolios similar to those of government ministers, including agriculture, economic, competition, security and migration policy.

The Commission is to start work on Nov. 1, but speculation is rife that it might not get down to business before January.

A former German defense minister, von der Leyen has been pressing smaller countries to change their minds. In recent weeks, a man who was the preferred candidate of the government in Slovenia withdrew and a woman was proposed in his place.

She decides which country gets which portfolio, and some of them, like those involving trade or finance or EU enlargement, are coveted by certain countries. Plum jobs like the post of vice president — the commission has seven of these — are also much sought after.

FILE - European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, second right, speaks with from left, European Commissioner for Justice Didier Reynders, European Commissioner for Internal Market Thierry Breton and European Commissioner for Neighborhood and Enlargement Oliver Varhelyi during a meeting of the College of Commissioners at EU headquarters in Brussels, on June 17, 2022. (AP Photo/Geert Vanden Wijngaert, File)