Kim Jong Un has vowed to accelerate North Korea's defense capabilities, citing military modernization by South Korea and the United States that he claims is pushing the region “to the brink of a nuclear war,” according to state media reports on Tuesday.
Kim's Speech at Party Meeting
The North Korean leader delivered his remarks at the conclusion of a three-day meeting of the Workers' Party of Korea that ended on Monday. The official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) quoted Kim as saying, “the US and the ROK are pushing forward with the ROK’s possession of a nuclear submarine while getting evermore undisguised in their moves toward the reinforcement and modernization of armed forces in the region.”
KCNA reported that Kim stated such actions were “pushing the situation in the Korean peninsula to the brink of a nuclear war.” In response, he affirmed the “steadfast policy stand of our Party and state to beef up the national defense capabilities faster.”
Nuclear Deterrent Expansion
The meeting “unanimously recognized that to steadily expand and strengthen the nuclear forces … is the most correct and unique way to actively and confidently cope with the unpredictable international military and political situation,” KCNA said. The agency added that the North's development of a war deterrent “with nuclear technology as a basis” would proceed “at increasing speed.”
Analyst Hong Min at Seoul's Korea Institute for National Unification told AFP that Kim's rhetoric can be seen as “a narrative that justifies strengthening its nuclear capabilities in line with movements from South Korea and the US.” Hong added that the wording “effectively shuts down any room for denuclearization talks and treats the irreversibility of its nuclear status as a fait accompli,” indicating Pyongyang's intention to “use nuclear weapons as a standing diplomatic and strategic lever.”
Regional Context and Sanctions
Pyongyang is under multiple sets of sanctions over its nuclear program. The two Koreas remain technically at war because their 1950-53 conflict ended in an armistice rather than a peace treaty. Since a 2019 summit between Kim and then-US President Donald Trump in Hanoi collapsed over denuclearization and sanctions relief, Pyongyang has repeatedly declared itself an “irreversible” nuclear state.
Kim's powerful sister, Kim Yo Jong, said earlier this month that the North's nuclear policy was a “line of no retreat,” reiterating the regime's position that it has no intention of giving up its nuclear arsenal.
South Korean President's Remarks
South Korean President Lee Jae Myung said last week that US counterpart Donald Trump had told him it was time to “pay attention to the North Korea issue.” Lee told reporters he had informed Trump at a G7 meeting in France that sanctions on the North were “ineffective.” “I also said that we can no longer deal with the North Korean nuclear issue in the same way we deal with other countries, and President Trump agreed,” Lee added.
