North Korea vows to strengthen nuclear deterrence amid U.S. tactical nuke reports

North Korea has issued a strong denunciation of foreign media reports suggesting the United States is considering a strategic shift towards enhancing its short-range tactical nuclear capabilities, particularly within the context of a potential second Trump administration. Pyongyang declared its intention to persistently bolster its self-defensive nuclear deterrence, characterizing the reported U.S. strategy as a significant threat that pushes the global security environment to the brink of nuclear war.

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The new nuclear strategy of the U.S. is pushing the global security environment to the critical point of nuclear war explosion.

A military commentary published via the Korean Central News Agency on Thursday asserted that the U.S. nuclear strategy is moving away from "deterrence missions" towards "actual battlefield use." The commentary warned that this revised U.S. nuclear strategy would severely disrupt the global nuclear balance and escalate an arms race. It specifically highlighted the potential for the most serious negative impact on the security environment in the Asia-Pacific region, an area densely populated with nuclear-armed states.

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The new nuclear strategy of the current U.S. administration will gravely disrupt the global nuclear balance and escalate the nuclear arms race.

North Korea specifically linked the U.S. tactical nuclear strategy to actions like the activation of the Nuclear Consultative Group (NCG) between the U.S. and South Korea. Pyongyang claims this U.S. approach directly targets the Korean Peninsula. The military commentator threatened that the "Korean Peninsula region could become the primary target for the U.S.'s new nuclear strategy." Consequently, North Korea vowed to "continuously expand and strengthen" its self-defensive nuclear deterrence to "thoroughly crush any nuclear threat."

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The U.S.'s new nuclear strategy foreshadows that the primary target could be the Korean Peninsula region.

This reaction from North Korea is interpreted as an attempt to maintain its initiative in inter-Korean affairs amidst perceived shifts in U.S. nuclear posture. It also serves to preemptively build justification for future missile tests and advancements in its nuclear arsenal. The commentary concluded by stating, "The most powerful offense is the most reliable defense," and vowed to continuously make adversarial nations "continuously recognize the catastrophic consequences that their adventurous choices against our state would entail."

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We will continuously expand and strengthen our self-defensive nuclear deterrence capable of thoroughly crushing any nuclear threat.