SEOUL
\nNorth Korean leader Kim Jong \u200cUn said exercising the country\u2019s position as a nuclear state is the only way to cope with an unpredictable and complicated global security situation, KCNA state news agency reported on Tuesday.
\n\u201cUnimaginable, astonishing incidents and events\u201d are occurring because of the \u201cgangster-like\u201d greed of hegemonic forces, making confrontations around the world more violent, Kim said, blaming the US for worsening bloodshed in Europe and the Middle East.
\nHe was speaking at a Central Committee meeting of the ruling Workers\u2019 Party, running from Saturday to Monday, KCNA said.Kim accused the US and South Korea of making the security situation on the Korean Peninsula more dangerous by steadily upgrading their combined nuclear posture, the only purpose of which, he said, is to attack North Korea.
\n\u201cTo steadily expand and strengthen the nuclear forces \u2026 and to thoroughly exercise the position of a nuclear weapons state is the most correct and unique way to actively and confidently cope with the unpredictable international military and political situation getting complicated in multiple ways,\u201d KCNA said.
\nKCNA did not elaborate on specific actions regarding the country\u2019s nuclear arsenal that might be taken. Kim also ordered the buildup of conventional weapons and accelerated construction of a 10,000-ton strategic guided missile cruiser, KCNA said. Yang Moo-jin, a professor at the University of North Korean Studies in Seoul, said the comments underscore Pyongyang\u2019s continued rejection of denuclearisation and push for recognition as a nuclear \u200cstate.
\n\u201cNorth Korea is once again reaffirming that denuclearisation talks are off the table,\u201d Yang said, adding it would only engage in negotiations \u201cas a nuclear weapons state on an equal footing,\u201d potentially focusing on arms reduction rather than dismantlement.
\nSuch talks would imply acceptance of a minimum deterrent and require sanctions relief, he said, fundamentally differing from phased denuclearisation proposals, such as those raised by South Korean President Lee Jae Myung to US President Donald Trump at the G7.
\nYang said that references in the party meeting to the US-South Korea Nuclear Consultative Group, a body aimed at deterring North Korea\u2019s nuclear threat, and Seoul\u2019s ambitions to develop a nuclear-powered submarine were being used by Pyongyang to justify its nuclear buildup.
\nNorth Korea has defied a slew of sanctions imposed by both the United Nations and the US between 2006 and 2017, banning Pyongyang from developing nuclear weapons and ballistic missiles to deliver them. Its stance has alarmed regional powers.
\nIt has declared itself a nuclear state and has said nothing would convince it to abandon its atomic weapons, despite years of diplomatic efforts by the US, China and South Korea. The party meeting also highlighted a push to modernize the coal industry and redevelop mining communities, which Kim described as a strategic priority.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
SEOUL North Korean leader Kim Jong \u200cUn said exercising the country\u2019s position as a nuclear state is the only way to cope with an unpredictable and complicated global security situation, KCNA state news agency reported on Tuesday. \u201cUnimaginable, astonishing incidents and events\u201d are occurring because of the \u201cgangster-like\u201d greed of hegemonic forces, making confrontations around […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":552819,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-552797","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-world"],"yoast_head":"\n