Author: Shen Guishi
SEOUL, March 24 (Reuters) – North Korean leader Kim Jong Un outlined policy priorities in a speech to parliament and said the country would permanently strengthen its nuclear forces and viewed South Korea as the most hostile country, state media KCNA reported on Tuesday.
Kim Jong-un said that Pyongyang’s status as a nuclear-weapon state is irreversible and that expanding its “self-defensive nuclear deterrent” is crucial to national security, regional stability and economic development.
He rejected the idea that nuclear disarmament could be exchanged for economic benefits or security guarantees, saying North Korea had proven that maintaining nuclear forces while developing was the right strategic choice.
Speaking to the Communist-run country’s Supreme People’s Assembly on Monday, he said nuclear weapons prevented war and allowed the country to focus resources on economic growth, construction and living standards.
Kim Jong Un accused the United States and its allies of destabilizing the region by deploying strategic nuclear assets near the Korean peninsula, but said North Korea no longer sees itself as a threatened country and has the power to threaten other countries if necessary.
Kim said South Korea was “considered the most hostile country” and warned Seoul that any attempt to infringe on North Korea’s sovereignty would be “mercilessly met without hesitation or restraint”.
The comments were the latest sign of Pyongyang’s hardening stance toward Seoul since Kim Jong Un abandoned his decades-long policy of seeking peaceful reunification and began redefining relations with South Korea as one between two hostile countries.
Analysts have been watching for signs that the shift has been enshrined in law. State media reports did not elaborate.
five year plan
In addition to security policies, Kim also outlined economic priorities, calling on officials to fully implement a new five-year development plan that focuses on industrial modernization, boosting electricity and coal production, increasing grain production and expanding housing construction across the country.
North Korea is one of the world’s poorest countries, according to international assessments, with an economy subject to severe sanctions and chronic shortages that have left much of its population dependent on state rations and informal markets.
KCNA said the parliamentary session approved constitutional amendments and passed legislation supporting the new five-year economic plan.
According to another budget report released at the meeting, lawmakers also approved the 2026 national budget to increase defense spending to 15.8% of total expenditure, with funds clearly allocated to expand nuclear deterrence and combat capabilities.
The congress heard a congratulatory message from Russian President Vladimir Putin, who praised Kim Jong Un’s leadership and pledged to deepen the comprehensive strategic partnership between Moscow and Pyongyang.
(Reporting by Shim Kyu-seok; Editing by Stephen Coates)