Overview
- Kim, in a policy speech to North Korea’s Supreme People’s Assembly on Monday, vowed to expand the arsenal and keep nuclear forces in what state media called precise readiness.
- He formally labeled South Korea the most hostile state and warned that any action touching the North would be met mercilessly and without hesitation.
- Justifying the buildup, Kim accused the United States of state terror and cited the U.S.–Iran fighting as evidence that countries need strong deterrence to stay safe.
- The Supreme People’s Assembly confirmed him to another term and adopted measures tied to the party’s new five‑year plan, further locking party directives into state law.
- KCNA said Belarusian President Aleksandr Lukashenko will visit Pyongyang this week, and Kim avoided naming President Trump, which analysts say keeps a narrow opening for talks.