SEOUL, September 10 (AJP) - North Korean leader Kim Jong-un pledged to enhance the country’s nuclear capabilities to counter rival nations, including the United States, and to ensure that its nuclear forces are always combat-ready, the Korean Central News Agency reported Tuesday.
Kim made the remarks during a meeting with military officials at a celebration marking North Korea’s founding day on Monday. Stressing the importance of power for national security, Kim said: "Strong power is just a genuine peace and an absolute guarantee for the development of our state."
He emphasized that North Korea's nuclear weapons are meant for defense, not to threaten other nations. "Under the different threats posed by the United States and its followers and under the security circumstances facing us, the possession of powerful military power is the duty and right to existence," Kim stated, underscoring the need for stronger nuclear capabilities to safeguard the country.
Kim further stated: "The DPRK will steadily strengthen its nuclear force capable of fully coping with any threatening acts imposed by its nuclear-armed rival states and redouble its measures and efforts to make all the armed forces of the state including the nuclear force fully ready for combat."
In recent years, North Korea has focused on developing advanced weaponry, including underwater nuclear drones, hypersonic missiles, and new intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) models.
North Korea’s ICBM capabilities were highlighted when it successfully launched a homemade military spy satellite, "Malligyong-1," into orbit using the new space carrier "Chollima-1" on its third attempt on Nov. 21, 2023.
The basic mechanism of ICBMs and satellite carriers is similar, with space carriers designed to put satellites into orbit and ICBMs intended to deliver warheads, primarily nuclear, into space.
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