North Korean leader Kim Jong Un said his country will launch three additional military spy satellites, build more nuclear weapons and introduce modern unmanned combat equipment in 2024, as he called for “overwhelming” war readiness to cope with U.S.-led confrontational moves, state media said Sunday, Paralel.Az reports citing Associated Press.

Kim’s comments, made during a key ruling Workers’ Party meeting to set state goals for next year, suggest he’ll continue a run of weapons tests to expand his arsenal amid long-dormant diplomacy with the United States. Observers say Kim would ultimately hope to use his boosted nuclear capability to wrest greater outside concessions if diplomacy resumes, likely after the U.S. presidential elections in November next year.

During the five-day meeting that ended Saturday, Kim said moves by the United States and its followers against North Korea have been unprecedented this year, pushing the Korean Peninsula to the brink of a nuclear war, according to the official Korean Central News Agency.

“The grave situation requires us to accelerate works to acquire overwhelming war response capabilities and thorough and perfect military readiness to suppress any types of provocations by the enemies at a stroke,” Kim said, according to KCNA.