North Korean dictator Kim Jong Un, a stunted little gargoyle with bad hair from a long line of stunted little gargoyles with bad hair, is once more ordering provocative moves on the part of the repressive Stalinist state's military.

North Korea leader Kim Jong Un has ordered his country's military, munitions industry and nuclear weapons sector to accelerate war preparations to counter what he called unprecedented confrontational moves by the U.S., state media said on Thursday.

Speaking on the policy directions for the new year at a key meeting of the country's ruling party on Wednesday, Kim also said Pyongyang would expand strategic cooperation with "anti-imperialist independent" countries, news agency KCNA reported.

North Korea has been expanding ties with Russia, among others, as Washington accuses Pyongyang of supplying military equipment to Moscow for use in its war with Ukraine, while Russia provides technical support to help the North advance its military capabilities.

South Korea's President was quick to reply.

On Thursday, South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol visited a frontline military unit in the eastern county of Yeoncheon to inspect its defence posture and called for an immediate retaliation if there was any provocation from North Korea.

"I urge you to immediately and firmly crush the enemy's will for a provocation on the spot," Yoon told troops.

North Korea could indeed, if it chose, make things pretty hot for South Korea for a while. The southern country's capital, Seoul, is within artillery and missile range of the Stalinist northern state. The North has nearly two million active and reserve troops; were they to simply give each a rifle and order them to start walking south, they could cause a lot of trouble. In recent months, though, North Korea has been moving closer to Vladimir Putin's Russia, which has some Pacific powers aside from South Korea concerned. North Korea also has an unknown number of nuclear devices, although their delivery capacity is suspect. It is important to note, however, that nuclear technology and, more importantly, targeting and delivery systems, are precisely the things Russia could assist North Korea with. In September, North Korea launched a new submarine, reportedly with the capacity to carry nuclear-tipped missiles; while North Korea has little experience as a maritime power, Russia has ample experience building missile submarines.

The new North Korean sub, though, is based on a Romeo-class Soviet boat, which was manufactured from 1957 to 1961. That's not exactly state-of-the-art. Even at present, the U.S. or Japanese navies have Anti-Submarine Warfare (ASW) tech that would quickly reduce the North Korean sub to a radioactive junk pile on the ocean floor.

At some level, even the dictator of the Stalinist state must realize that any major offensive action would result in the suicide of North Korea. Kim Jong Un — who essentially is North Korea — has a long history of making threatening moves and statements, then backing down after receiving some concession or other — generally over their chronic inability to feed the North Korean people. This may well be another case of the same, Russian aid notwithstanding. 

Either this or Kim Jong Un may be well having his mouth write checks his butt can't cash.