North Korea modifies Constitution on nuclear policy, cites US provocations

SEOUL (Reuters) – North Korea adopted a constitutional amendment to enshrine its nuclear force policy, state media reported on Thursday, as the country’s leader vowed to speed up nuclear weapons production to deter what he called American provocations.

The Supreme People’s Assembly unanimously adopted the review stating that North Korea “develops highly nuclear weapons to guarantee” its “rights to existence” and to “deter war,” the KCNA news agency reported, following the conclusion on Wednesday. of a two-day meeting of the North Korean parliament.

“The policy of building nuclear forces of the DPRK has been made permanent as a basic law of the state, which no one can violate in any way,” North Korean leader Kim Jong Un said, addressing parliament. DPRK are the initials of the North’s official name, the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea.

Kim went on to stress “the need to press ahead with work to exponentially increase nuclear weapons production and diversify nuclear strike means and deploy them in different services.”

And he said that US military exercises and the deployment of strategic assets in the region were extreme provocations.

South Korea’s Unification Ministry said the revised constitution showed Pyongyang’s “strong will” not to abandon its nuclear program.

“Once again we emphasize that North Korea will face the end of its regime if it uses nuclear weapons,” he warned in a statement.

Japanese Chief Cabinet Secretary Hirokazu Matsuno said: “North Korea’s nuclear and missile development poses threats to the peace and security of our country and the international community, and can never be tolerated.”

The amendment comes a year after North Korea officially enshrined in law the right to use preventive nuclear strikes to protect yourselfa move that Kim had said would make his nuclear status “irreversible.”

Kim urged officials to further promote solidarity with nations that oppose the United States, denouncing trilateral cooperation between the United States, South Korea and Japan as “NATO in Asian version.”

“This is simply the worst real threat, not threatening rhetoric or an imaginary entity,” he said.

Kim returned home last week from a trip to Russia during which he and Russian President Vladimir Putin agreed to boost military and economic cooperation.

U.S. and South Korean officials have expressed concern that Pyongyang may be seeking technological help for its nuclear and missile programs as Moscow tries to acquire munitions from the North to supplement its dwindling stockpile for the war in Ukraine.

Analysts said having nuclear policy written into the constitution is a symbolic measure, declaring North Korea’s intention to have a permanent nuclear force over which it would not negotiate.

“The new Cold War in the Northeast Asian region and military tensions on the Korean Peninsula will intensify,” said Yang Moo-jin, a professor at the University of North Korean Studies in Seoul.

On Tuesday, South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol warned Pyongyang of an “overwhelming response” if it uses nuclear weapons, as Seoul claimed. first large scale military parade in a decade in a show of force.

The parliament’s announcement also comes after North Korean state media said on Wednesday that Pyongyang had decided expel soldier Travis King, the American soldier who ran into North Korea in July. The United States said he is now in US custody and heading home after being expelled to China.

In his speech, Kim said ensuring a major renewal of the country’s economy was “the most urgent task for the government” and urged the agricultural sector to work harder to promote the well-being of the people.

The North has suffered severe food shortages in recent decades, including famine in the 1990s, often as a result of natural disasters, and international experts have warned that border closures during the COVID-19 pandemic worsened food safety issues.

Our standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.