North Korean leader Kim Jong Un reiterated that his country's status as a nuclear-armed state "will never change" while formally recognizing South Korea as the "most hostile nation," state media reported Tuesday.
In a speech Monday on the second and final day of the first session of the newly elected 15th Supreme People's Assembly, Kim vowed to further advance North Korea's "defensive nuclear deterrence" and maintain a "prompt and precise" response posture for its nuclear forces to address "strategic threats" to national and regional security.
North Korea "will continue to solidify its status as a nuclear weapons state...while aggressively staging campaigns to crush any provocations by hostile forces," he said.
He warned South Korea of "merciless consequences" if it carries out any acts that provoke Pyongyang, the Korean Central News Agency reported.
North Korea has formally recognized South Korea "as the most hostile nation and will thoroughly ignore and disregard it through the clearest remarks and actions," Kim said.
North Korea's constitution calls for the peaceful reunification of the two Koreas, and Pyongyang had been expected to amend the provision after Kim ordered a legal revision in 2024 to define South Korea as "the No. 1 hostile country," Yonhap News Agency reported.
Kim also accused the US of global "state terrorism and aggression," in an apparent reference to the war in the Middle East and said Pyongyang will play a more forceful role in a united front against Washington.
Without calling out US President Donald Trump by name, Kim said whether his adversaries "choose confrontation or peaceful coexistence is up to them, and we are prepared to respond to any choice."
