Key facts
- North Korea's Vice Defence Minister Kim Kang Il stated that a US arms buildup justifies expanding its nuclear force.
- Kim Kang Il declared North Korea's nuclear weapons state status irreversible.
- North Korea accused the US of undermining global nuclear security by expanding a "nuclear submarine alliance."
- The AUKUS pact was cited as a template for US expansion to allies like South Korea and Japan.
- North Korea is advancing its own nuclear-powered submarine program.
- North Korea's Vice Foreign Minister Kim Son-Gyong plans to attend the UN General Assembly next week.
North Korea's Vice Defence Minister Kim Kang Il stated on Thursday that the United States' arms buildup justifies Pyongyang's efforts to strengthen its nuclear forces and expand its nuclear deterrent. Speaking at China's Xiangshan security forum, Kim Kang Il asserted that North Korea would continue to bolster its self-defensive nuclear deterrent capability.
North Korea also accused the US on Wednesday of undermining global nuclear security by expanding a "nuclear submarine alliance." State media cited an international affairs analyst, Choe Ju-hyon, who claimed a senior US naval official encouraged Japan and South Korea to pursue nuclear-powered submarines. The commentary noted that the AUKUS pact, under which the US and Britain are helping Australia acquire nuclear-powered submarines, has become a template Washington is seeking to extend to other allies. This development, along with Seoul's pursuit of nuclear-powered submarines and discussions in Tokyo, was cited as justification for North Korea's continued buildup of its own nuclear deterrent.
North Korea has been advancing its own push for a nuclear-powered, nuclear-armed submarine. In December, photos released by North Korean state media showed a largely completed hull of a submarine that Kim Kang Il inspected at a shipyard, described as an 8,700-ton-class nuclear-propelled submarine and a crucial step in modernizing and arming the navy.
Separately, North Korea's Vice Foreign Minister Kim Son-Gyong plans to attend a high-level segment of the United Nations General Assembly beginning next week in New York, according to Yonhap news agency.