North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has pledged to further strengthen his country’s nuclear capabilities, declaring that maintaining and expanding its status as a nuclear weapons state remains the only viable response to an increasingly volatile global security environment.
Speaking at a Central Committee meeting of the ruling Workers’ Party that ran from Saturday to Monday, Kim argued that escalating international conflicts and shifting military dynamics require North Korea to reinforce both its nuclear and conventional military strength.
According to the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA), Kim said “unimaginable, astonishing incidents and events” are taking place around the world because of the “gangster-like” greed of hegemonic forces. He accused the United States of contributing to growing bloodshed in Europe and the Middle East.
Kim also criticised the US and South Korea, accusing both countries of heightening tensions on the Korean Peninsula through what he described as an increasingly aggressive joint nuclear posture.
He said their military cooperation was designed solely to target North Korea.
“To steadily expand and strengthen the nuclear forces … and to thoroughly exercise the position of a nuclear weapons state is the most correct and unique way to actively and confidently cope with the unpredictable international military and political situation getting complicated in multiple ways,” KCNA quoted Kim as saying.
The report did not provide details on any specific measures North Korea plans to take regarding its nuclear arsenal.
In addition to expanding nuclear capabilities, Kim reportedly ordered the accelerated development of conventional military assets, including the construction of a 10,000 ton strategic guided missile cruiser.
Analysts said the remarks reinforce Pyongyang’s long standing position that denuclearisation is no longer under consideration.
Yang Moo-jin, a professor at the University of North Korean Studies in Seoul, said the comments demonstrate North Korea’s continued determination to be recognised internationally as a nuclear weapons state.
“North Korea is once again reaffirming that denuclearisation talks are off the table,” Yang said.
He added that Pyongyang would only be willing to engage in future negotiations “as a nuclear weapons state on an equal footing,” with any discussions likely focused on arms reduction rather than dismantling its nuclear programme.
According to Yang, such an approach would require international acceptance of North Korea’s minimum nuclear deterrent and include sanctions relief, marking a significant departure from phased denuclearisation proposals previously discussed by South Korean President Lee Jae Myung and US President Donald Trump.
Yang also noted that references during the party meeting to the US South Korea Nuclear Consultative Group and Seoul’s ambitions to develop a nuclear powered submarine were being used by North Korea to justify further military expansion.
North Korea has repeatedly defied sanctions imposed by the United Nations and the United States between 2006 and 2017 aimed at preventing the development of nuclear weapons and ballistic missile technology.
Despite years of diplomatic efforts involving the US, China and South Korea, Pyongyang has consistently maintained that it will not abandon its nuclear arsenal and has formally declared itself a nuclear state.
Alongside military priorities, the party meeting also focused on economic issues, including plans to modernise the coal industry and revitalise mining communities.
Kim described the sector as strategically important, while Yang noted that coal remains North Korea’s primary energy source.
“Coal effectively remains North Korea’s main energy resource,” Yang said, adding that modernisation plans are intended to help address the country’s chronic energy shortages.
Faridah Abdulkadiri
