North Korea's Kim Jong ‌Un says country will exercise its position as nuclear state

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un declared that asserting the nation's status as a nuclear state is the sole viable response to an unpredictable and complex global security landscape. He asserted that "unimaginable, astonishing incidents and events" are occurring due to the "gangster-like" greed of hegemonic powers, which he claims is escalating global confrontations.

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Unimaginable, astonishing incidents and events are occurring because of the “gangster-like” greed of hegemonic forces, making confrontations around the world more ​violent.

Kim specifically accused the United States of exacerbating bloodshed in both Europe and the Middle East. He also contended that the security situation on the Korean Peninsula is becoming more perilous due to the escalating combined nuclear posture of the U.S. and South Korea, which he stated is solely intended to threaten 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," Kim was quoted as saying by KCNA.

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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.

While KCNA did not provide specific details on potential actions regarding North Korea's nuclear arsenal, Kim also directed the military to bolster conventional weaponry. He further ordered the acceleration of construction for a 10,000-ton strategic guided missile cruiser. These directives come amid Pyongyang's continued defiance of international sanctions aimed at curbing its nuclear and ballistic missile programs.

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North Korea ⁠is once again reaffirming that denuclearisation talks are off the table.

Experts interpret Kim's remarks as a clear signal that denuclearization talks are off the table. Professor Yang Moo-jin of the University of North Korean Studies in Seoul suggested that North Korea seeks recognition as a nuclear state and would only engage in negotiations from a position of equality, potentially focusing on arms reduction rather than complete dismantlement. Yang noted that North Korea is likely using references to the U.S.-South Korea Nuclear Consultative Group and Seoul's submarine ambitions as justification for its own nuclear buildup.

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It would only engage in negotiations “as a nuclear weapons state on an equal footing,” potentially focusing on arms reduction rather than dismantlement.