North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has vowed to further strengthen his country’s military capabilities, warning that defence modernisation efforts by South Korea and the United States are pushing the Korean Peninsula “to the brink of a nuclear war,” state media reported on Tuesday.
According to the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA), Kim made the remarks in a concluding speech at a three-day Workers’ Party of Korea meeting that ended on Monday, where senior officials reviewed key policy directions.
Kim reaffirmed what KCNA described as the “steadfast policy” of the ruling party and state to rapidly enhance national defence capabilities, amid rising regional tensions and ongoing international sanctions over North Korea’s nuclear programme.
The two Koreas remain technically at war, as the 1950–53 conflict ended in an armistice agreement rather than a peace treaty.
KCNA reported that Kim criticised joint military developments by the United States and South Korea, including moves related to Seoul’s pursuit of nuclear-powered submarines and broader military modernisation in the region.
He said such activities were “pushing the situation on the Korean Peninsula to the brink of a nuclear war,” adding that North Korea would respond by expanding what he described as a “powerful and absolutely reliable deterrent for self-defence.”
The state media outlet also said the party meeting agreed that strengthening nuclear forces was the “most correct and unique way” to respond to what it called an unpredictable international security environment. It added that North Korea’s development of nuclear-based deterrence would continue “at increasing speed.”
Analysts say Kim’s remarks reinforce Pyongyang’s long-standing position on its nuclear programme and signal a further hardening of its stance against denuclearisation negotiations.
Hong Min of Seoul’s Korea Institute for National Unification said the comments fit a broader narrative used by Pyongyang to justify continued expansion of its nuclear capabilities in response to regional military developments.
North Korea has repeatedly declared itself an “irreversible” nuclear state since stalled negotiations with the United States collapsed in 2019.
Kim’s sister, Kim Yo Jong, recently described the country’s nuclear posture as a “line of no retreat,” underscoring the regime’s position that its arsenal is non-negotiable.
Meanwhile, South Korean President Lee Jae Myung said last week that former U.S. President Donald Trump had indicated renewed attention to the North Korea issue, while also suggesting that existing sanctions have had limited effectiveness.
Lee added that both leaders had discussed the need for a revised approach to addressing North Korea’s nuclear ambitions, noting that Trump had agreed the issue required a different diplomatic strategy.
