Key facts
- North Korea condemned South Korea's development of nuclear-powered submarines.
- Pyongyang views Seoul's submarine program as a step towards nuclear armament.
- North Korea warned that cooperation with the U.S. on submarine development will destabilize the Korean Peninsula.
- North Korea stated it would pursue 'unsurvivable, irrecoverable retaliatory strikes' to deter war.
North Korea has denounced South Korea's efforts to build nuclear-powered submarines, labeling the move as a step toward "nuclear armament," according to Pyongyang's state media.
In a commentary carried by the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA), Jang Kum-chol, first vice minister of North Korea's foreign ministry, stated that Seoul's objective was to "free itself from the constraints of restrictions on spent nuclear fuel reprocessing and uranium enrichment and secure the right to produce nuclear material, ultimately paving the way to nuclear armament."
Jang warned that Seoul's nuclear cooperation with Washington on nuclear submarine development would further destabilize the Korean Peninsula and pose a grave challenge to North Korea's security and maritime sovereignty. He added that "Having a capability to respond with unsurvivable, irrecoverable retaliatory strikes would be the most responsible choice for deterring war."