North Korea's Kim vows nuclear expansion as clash with enemies 'inevitable'

By Global Watch and AFP | 2025-01-30

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un vowed that the country's nuclear program will continue indefinitely as a confrontation with its enemies is "inevitable."

The remarks by Kim, reported by state-run media on January 29, were made as he toured a nuclear-material production facility.

Kim said 2025 would be a "crucial year" for bolstering North Korea's nuclear forces, the state-run Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) reported.

"It is our firm political and military stand and invariable noble task and duty to develop the state's nuclear counteraction posture indefinitely," Kim said, according to KCNA.

The report, and Kim's nuclear factory visit, follow Pyongyang's test-firing on January 25 of sea-to-surface strategic guided cruise missiles.

North Korea last year tested various nuclear-capable systems, including a new solid-fuel intercontinental ballistic missile. Such missiles have a minimum range of 5,500km and are primarily designed to deliver nuclear warheads.

North Korea says it is seeking nuclear weapons to counter threats from the United States and its allies, including South Korea.

The two Koreas remain technically at war since the 1950-1953 conflict ended in an armistice, not a peace treaty.

Relations between Pyongyang and Seoul have been at one of their lowest points in years, with the North launching a flurry of ballistic missiles last year in violation of United Nations sanctions.

During the facility inspection, KCNA said Kim addressed "the world's most unstable situation in which a long-term confrontation with the most vicious hostile countries is inevitable," and that it was "indispensable for the country to steadily strengthen the nuclear shield."

Russian assistance

Kim's comments come amid increasing concern that Russia may be providing North Korea with assistance in developing weapons of mass destruction.

North Korea and Russia in November ratified a landmark defense pact, formalizing months of tightening military bonds between the two nations.

North Korea has also become one of the most vocal and main backers of Russia's offensive in Ukraine.

Seoul and its Western nations have long accused Pyongyang of supplying Moscow with artillery shells and missiles for use in Ukraine, but that support has escalated with the reported arrival of thousands of North Korean troops prepared to engage in combat.

In exchange for sending troops, Russia is offering North Korea technological support that could advance Pyongyang's nuclear weapon program, the West fears.

The foreign ministers of Australia, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, South Korea, New Zealand, the United Kingdom and the United States and the high representative of the EU signed a statement on December 16, calling North Korea's growing involvement in Russia's war in Ukraine a "dangerous expansion."

They also said they were "deeply concerned about any political, military or economic support that Russia may be providing to the DPRK's illegal weapons programs, including weapons of mass destruction," using an acronym for North Korea.