North Korea's Kim says country will exercise its position as nuclear state, KCNA reports

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un declared that the nation must exercise its position as a nuclear state to effectively manage an unpredictable and complicated global security situation. He attributed the rise in worldwide confrontations and violence to the "gangster-like" greed of hegemonic forces, specifically blaming the United States for exacerbating bloodshed in Europe and the Middle East.

Speaking at a ruling Workers' Party Central Committee meeting, Kim accused the US and South Korea of destabilizing the Korean Peninsula through their continuous enhancement of combined nuclear capabilities, asserting that this posture is solely intended to target North Korea. He emphasized that expanding and strengthening nuclear forces, and fully exercising the status of a nuclear weapons state, is the most appropriate and unique strategy to confidently address the evolving international military and political landscape.

“

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

KCNA reported that Kim also directed the acceleration of conventional weapons buildup and the construction of a 10,000-ton strategic guided missile cruiser. Analysts suggest these statements reaffirm North Korea's rejection of denuclearization and its pursuit of recognition as a nuclear power, indicating a potential focus on arms reduction talks as a nuclear state rather than complete dismantlement.

“

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.