Kim Jong-un vows to continue expanding South Korea's nuclear weapons program and reiterates his designation of South Korea as the "most hostile country."

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un emphasized at a plenary session of the Workers' Party of Korea that North Korea will continue to expand its nuclear weapons force and, unusually, publicly mentioned South Korea's nuclear-powered submarine program . Analysts believe that North Korea is simultaneously accelerating the development of strategic weapons and modernizing its navy, while explicitly justifying its nuclear expansion through South Korea-US military cooperation. This move aims to further solidify its status as a nuclear-armed state and preemptively block any future dialogue between North Korea and the US to discuss denuclearization.

The Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) and the Rodong Sinmun reported on Tuesday (June 23) that the enlarged meeting of the Second Plenary Session of the Ninth Central Committee of the Workers' Party of Korea was held in Pyongyang from June 20 to 22. The meeting, chaired by Kim Jong Un, determined the short-term and medium-to-long-term policy directions for the Party and the state.

In his statement, Kim Jong Un said that nuclear weapons are "the core of North Korea's military sovereignty" and "the central hub for deterring war and implementing its strategy." Therefore, North Korea will "continuously expand and strengthen its nuclear forces to thoroughly consolidate its status as a nuclear-armed state." He stated that North Korea will accelerate the implementation of "larger, more innovative, and more inspiring plans" to further enhance the country's strategic deterrence capabilities.

Kim Jong Un reiterated his hardline stance toward South Korea, saying, "We must thoroughly adhere to the principle of fighting against the enemy, which was established by the Party, and regards South Korea as the most hostile country."

He instructed the foreign affairs department to actively expand foreign relations, based on safeguarding national interests and serving the "enriching the country and strengthening the military" strategy.

It is noteworthy that Kim Jong-un made a rare direct mention of South Korea's nuclear-powered submarine program. He accused the United States and South Korea of ​​"increasingly blatantly pursuing their conspiracy to enhance military strength and modernization in the region, even pushing South Korea to possess nuclear submarines."

He criticized the continued joint military exercises and reconnaissance activities between South Korea and the United States, which he said had led to an "extreme deterioration" of the situation on the Korean Peninsula. North Korea also characterized the South Korea-U.S. nuclear consultation group as a "nuclear war apparatus," claiming that it was centered on an "integrated nuclear and conventional warfare posture" and aimed at carrying out a nuclear strike against North Korea, and was the main factor pushing the peninsula to the brink of nuclear war.

Kim Jong Un also instructed that other military construction be accelerated, including speeding up the construction of 10,000-ton-class strategic missile cruisers, completing the fortification of the southern border, and building a new naval base. The 10,000-ton-class strategic missile cruiser project is considered a landmark project in the modernization of the North Korean navy.

In response to North Korea's accusations, the South Korean government reiterated that its advancement of nuclear-powered submarines is aimed at countering North Korea's nuclear and missile threats and strengthening its defense capabilities, and does not contradict its commitment to the denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula.

Scholars and experts analyze that North Korea is trying to use South Korea's advancement of nuclear submarines and the strengthening of military cooperation between South Korea and the United States to seek legitimacy for its own expansion of its nuclear arsenal and to preemptively block the possibility of future dialogue between North Korea and the United States to revive denuclearization.

Lim Eul-chul, a professor at the Institute for Far Eastern Studies at Kyungnam University, believes that this move is both a reinforcement of the hardline stance against South Korea and a basis for solidifying the "hostile relationship" between North and South Korea.

Yang Moo-jin, a visiting professor at the National Graduate School of North Korea, pointed out that Pyongyang is sending a clear signal to the international community: even if dialogue between North Korea and the United States resumes, denuclearization will not be a topic of negotiation.

Some analysts believe that North Korea may further expand its cooperation with China and Russia, strengthen its anti-US front, continuously enhance its nuclear forces and naval combat capabilities, and take advantage of international bloc confrontation to expand its diplomatic space and continue to advance its nuclear missile development.

The North Korean plenary session also finalized high-level personnel changes. Jo Yong-won was appointed Secretary of the Central Committee of the Workers' Party of Korea and Director of the Organization and Guidance Department, while Kim Jae-ryong, former member of the Politburo Standing Committee and Secretary of the Central Committee, was removed from his post. Regarding the national economy, the conference prioritized the revitalization of the coal industry and announced the launch of a nationwide modernization project for housing in coal mine mountainous areas next year.

Source: [Lianhe Zaobao] (https://www.zaobao.com/news/world/story20260623-9251897)