SEOUL, June 23 (AJP)-North Korean leader Kim Jong-un reiterated the state ambition to expand as a nuclear-arms power while denouncing South Korea's push on homegrown nuclear-powered submarine, state media reported Monday.
The Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) on Tuesday said the Workers’ Party of Korea held an enlarged plenary meeting of its Central Committee from June 20 to 22 to review progress on decisions adopted at the party’s ninth congress and discuss future policy priorities.
According to KCNA, Kim declared that North Korea would continue to “expand and strengthen” its nuclear forces and fully exercise its status as a nuclear weapons state. The report said plans related to nuclear technology would be accelerated and that the country would continue efforts to develop military assets capable of surpassing global standards.
The meeting also reiterated North Korea’s policy of treating South Korea as its “most hostile state” and called for strict adherence to the ruling party’s principles for confronting Seoul.
KCNA directly criticized recent South Korea-U.S. security cooperation, including the sixth meeting of the Nuclear Consultative Group, a bilateral framework aimed at strengthening extended deterrence against North Korean threats.
The North’s state media accused Washington and Seoul of pushing the Korean Peninsula closer to nuclear conflict through military planning involving both nuclear and conventional forces. It also criticized what it described as efforts by South Korea to acquire nuclear-powered submarines and expand military capabilities in cooperation with the United States.
Kim additionally ordered continued work on strengthening border fortifications along North Korea’s southern frontier and constructing new naval bases to support the country’s fleet operations, KCNA said.
The comments came as Seoul pursues plans to develop and build a nuclear-powered submarine using domestic technology.
A South Korean Foreign Ministry official said June 9 that discussions with U.S. counterparts had proceeded on the understanding that the submarine would be built in South Korea and that Washington had not raised objections to the plan.
The official said South Korea had shared details of its submarine project with the United States and that both sides agreed the capability would contribute to the alliance’s defense posture and support Seoul’s efforts to take a leading role in defending the Korean Peninsula.
South Korea last month unveiled a basic development plan stating that the submarine would be designed and constructed domestically to ensure greater self-reliance in acquisition, maintenance and long-term operations.
Questions remain, however, over whether the allies can reach agreements on broader nuclear fuel issues. The Foreign Ministry official noted that discussions on expanding South Korea’s authority to enrich uranium and reprocess spent nuclear fuel under the bilateral nuclear cooperation agreement would require further negotiations.
Under the revised U.S.-South Korea nuclear agreement, Seoul must obtain Washington’s consent for uranium enrichment below 20 percent and for spent fuel reprocessing, limiting its ability to independently produce nuclear fuel for civilian reactors.
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