Kim Jong Un Says Nuclear State Status Essential for Security, Blames US for Global Instability
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has declared that exercising the country's position as a nuclear state is the only way to cope with an unpredictable and complicated global security situation, according to state news agency KCNA.
Speaking at a Central Committee meeting of the ruling Workers' Party, Mr. Kim blamed the United States for what he termed worsening bloodshed in Europe and West Asia, citing the 'gangster-like' greed of hegemonic forces. He accused the U.S. and South Korea of making the security situation on the Korean Peninsula more dangerous by steadily upgrading their combined nuclear posture, which he claimed is aimed at attacking 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 Mr. Kim as saying.
The report did not elaborate on specific actions regarding the country's nuclear arsenal that might be taken. However, Mr. Kim also ordered the buildup of conventional weapons and an acceleration of the construction of a 10,000-ton strategic guided missile cruiser.
North Korea has defied a slew of sanctions imposed by both the United Nations and the United States between 2006 and 2017, which ban Pyongyang from developing nuclear weapons and ballistic missiles to deliver them. Its stance has alarmed regional powers, including South Korea, Japan, and China.
Pyongyang has declared itself a nuclear state and has repeatedly stated that nothing would convince it to abandon its atomic weapons, despite years of diplomatic efforts by the U.S., China, and South Korea.
The meeting, which began on Saturday and closed on Monday, underscores the regime's continued prioritisation of its nuclear programme as a cornerstone of national security, even as global tensions rise.
