North Korean leader says nuclear state status only way forward

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has stated that establishing and maintaining the country’s status as a nuclear power is the only way to cope with the unpredictable and complex global security situation.

Speaking at a Central Committee meeting of the ruling Workers’ Party, he said “unimaginable and shocking incidents and events” are occurring due to the “gangster-like greed” of hegemonic powers, which is intensifying conflicts around the world, Caliber.Az reports, citing the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA).

He accused the United States of worsening bloodshed in Europe and the Middle East.

Kim also blamed the United States and South Korea for making security conditions on the Korean Peninsula more dangerous by continuously advancing their joint nuclear doctrine, which he said is solely aimed at attacking North Korea.

“Continuously expanding and strengthening nuclear forces… and fully implementing the status of a nuclear-armed state is the most correct and unique way to actively and confidently deal with the unpredictable international military and political situation, which is becoming more complicated in many directions,” KCNA quoted him as saying.

The agency did not specify what concrete steps regarding the country’s nuclear arsenal might follow.

Kim also ordered an expansion of conventional weapons stockpiles and the acceleration of construction of a 10,000-ton strategic missile cruiser.

The party congress also emphasized the modernization of the coal industry and the restructuring of mining communities, which Kim described as a strategic priority. “Coal remains effectively the main energy resource of North Korea,” he said, noting that modernization plans aim to ease chronic energy shortages.

By Bakhtiyar Abbasov