North Korea passed a law on Thursday that guarantees the country’s right to use nuclear weapons to protect itself from external enemies. According to North Korean dictator Kim Jong-un, the legislation makes Pyongyang’s nuclear status irreversible and prevents any negotiations on denuclearization.
“The greatest meaning of legislating nuclear weapons policy is to draw an irretrievable line so that there is no bargaining over our weapons,” Kim said in a speech to parliament.
Theoretically, North Korea is already a nuclear state – that’s because the country’s constitution allows the development of such weapons. But the text approved on Thursday expands the possibilities for using the technology, for example in the event of a threat of invasion of another country.
From the enactment of the law, nuclear attacks will also be allowed if an imminent attack by weapons of mass destruction is detected against the country or against “strategic targets”, including its leadership or military installations. According to Reuters, this is an apparent reference to South Korea’s strategy of preemptively attacking its neighbor’s nuclear structures if it perceives immediate risks.
North Korean law still prohibits any sharing of such technology with other countries, state news agency KCN reported.
A North Korean lawmaker said the law would serve as a legal guarantee to consolidate North Korea’s position as a nuclear weapons state and ensure the “transparent, consistent and standard character” of its policy.
The move comes as international observers accuse the country of preparing to resume nuclear tests – the last time was in 2017. In late July, Kim said his country was ready to mobilize its nuclear deterrent in the face of possible military clashes with the United States and South Korea.
The confrontation with Washington, Kim said at the time, poses nuclear threats since the conflict in the 1950s and requires the North to undertake an “urgent historic task” to bolster its self-defense.
The previous month, the US and South Korea had threatened to impose more sanctions and review US military posture if Pyogyang carried out a new nuclear test. Meanwhile, US President Joe Biden has offered to talk to Kim anytime, anywhere, and South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol has said his country would provide economic aid if Pyongyang started to give up its arsenal.
Yoon’s offer, however, was mocked. The dictator’s influential sister, Kim Yo-jong, said the South Korean should stop talking nonsense and shut up, ruling out any possibility of negotiations.
In addition, North Korea accuses the US and allies of maintaining “hostile policies” such as sanctions and military exercises that Pyogyang says undermine its messages of peace. “As long as nuclear weapons remain on earth, imperialism remains and the maneuvers of the United States and its followers against our republic are not over, our work to increase nuclear force will not cease,” said the dictator.
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