With Kim Jong Un’s self-proclaimed year-end deadline expiring without any major weapons testing, January 2020 began with the announcement of North Korea’s new “head-on breakthrough battle” policy line.

Kim Jong Un, replacing for the first time his annual New Year’s Address with a readout of the four-day party plenum at the end of 2019, proclaimed that a “long-term confrontation with the U.S.” was inevitable, vowing to continue developing “strategic weapons” and to maintain its “nuclear deterrent.”

During and after the party plenum, January 2020 saw a series of high-level personnel changes in North Korea’s military, munitions industry, and foreign policy sector, most notably the appointment of Ri Son Gwon — formerly head of the North’s Committee for the Peaceful Reunification of the Country — as foreign minister.

With the increasing global threat of the spread of China’s novel coronavirus (2019-nCoV), the last few weeks of January saw North Korea strengthening quarantine measures and close its border, while also making a move to send “aid fund” to China.

So how did we get here?

To help readers understand how events have been developing, NK Pro has compiled key milestones and North Korea events from December 31, 2019 to January 31, 2020.