According to state media, North Korea has passed legislation authorising nuclear strikes if enemy forces attack its leadership. The law passed by the North’s parliament, the Supreme People’s Assembly, on Thursday effectively makes its nuclear-armed status ‘irreversible’ and prohibits any de-nuclearization talks.
Nuclear weapons can be used to protect the country’s strategic assets if it is attacked, the new law says. The law also bans sharing of nuclear arms or technology with other countries. ‘If the command and control system of the national nuclear force is in danger of an attack by hostile forces, a nuclear strike is automatically carried out immediately,’ the law says, according to state media.
Kim Jong Un stated in his speech at the assembly that North Korea will never renounce nuclear weapons and missiles, adding that it is necessary to confront US hostility. He further accused the US of plotting to undermine the North’s defences and dethrone his dictatorial regime.
‘The most important purpose of enacting nuclear weapons policy is to establish an irreversible line so that there can be no negotiating over our nuclear weapons,’ Kim stated in an address to the Supreme People’s Assembly, according to Reuters.
North Korea has previously proclaimed itself a nuclear weapons state in its constitution, but the new legislation goes much farther in defining when nuclear weapons can be deployed, such as in response to an assault or to prevent an invasion. US President Joe Biden has volunteered to meet with Kim at any time and in any location, while South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol has indicated his country will provide enormous economic help if Pyongyang reduces its armament buildup.
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