SEOUL, South Korea – North Korean leader Kim Jong-un said his country would permanently strengthen its nuclear forces and treat South Korea as its most hostile state, as he set out policy priorities in a speech to parliament, state media KCNA reported on Tuesday, March 24.

Kim said Pyongyang’s status as a nuclear-armed state was irreversible and that expanding a “self-defensive nuclear deterrent” was essential 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 already proven that maintaining nuclear forces while pursuing development was the correct strategic choice.

Nuclear weapons had deterred war and allowed the state to focus resources on economic growth, construction and living standards, he said in the address on Monday, March 23, to the Supreme People’s Assembly, the communist-run country’s rubber-stamp legislature.

Kim 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 viewed itself as a country under threat and possessed the power to threaten others if necessary.

Kim said South Korea had been “recognized as the most hostile state” and warned Seoul that any attempt to infringe on North Korea’s sovereignty would be met “mercilessly without hesitation or restraint.”

The comments are the latest sign of Pyongyang’s hardening stance toward Seoul since Kim dropped decades of policy seeking peaceful reunification and moved to redefine relations with the South as those between two hostile states.

Analysts have been watching for any sign that this shift had been codified in law. The state media report did not elaborate.

Five-year plan

Alongside security policy, Kim outlined economic priorities, calling on officials to fully implement a new five-year development plan focused on modernizing industry, boosting electricity and coal production, increasing food output and expanding housing construction nationwide.

North Korea is one of the world’s poorest countries, with a heavily sanctioned economy and chronic shortages that have left much of its population dependent on state rations and informal markets, according to international assessments.

The parliamentary session adopted amendments to the constitution and passed legislation endorsing the new five-year economic plan, KCNA said.

Lawmakers also approved a 2026 state budget that raises defense spending to 15.8% of total expenditure, with funding explicitly allocated to expanding nuclear deterrence and warfighting capabilities, according to a separate budget report released at the session.

The assembly heard a congratulatory message from Russian President Vladimir Putin, who praised Kim’s leadership and pledged to deepen a comprehensive strategic partnership between Moscow and Pyongyang. – Rappler.com