North Korea makes constitutional amendment for 'exponential' nuclear growth: Report
North Korea allegedly amended its constitution on Thursday to focus on expanding its nuclear forces, despite the United States (US) urging it to return to stalled talks. North Korean supreme leader Kim Jong-un also allegedly stressed that the move was to counter threats from the US and its allies to stifle Pyongyang's atomic ambitions and destroy its system. The new constitutional amendment would make North Korea's pursuit of nuclear weapons "the basic law of the state."
Why does this story matter?
This comes right after Kim returned from his trip to Russia, where he met with Russian President Vladimir Putin and visited numerous weapons plants. Meanwhile, America has accused the North Korean supremo of providing weapons to support the Kremlin's ongoing war in Ukraine. The amendment also comes roughly a year after the North enshrined in law the right to use preemptive nuclear strikes to safeguard itself, a move Kim claimed would render its nuclear status "irreversible."
Here's what Kim said in North Korean parliament
"The Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK)'s nuclear force-building policy has been made permanent as the basic law of the state, which no one is allowed to flout with anything," Kim was quoted as saying by the state's Korean Central News Agency in the Supreme People's Assembly on Wednesday. "Need to push ahead with the work for exponentially boosting the production of nuclear weapons and diversifying the nuclear strike means and deploying them in different services," he added.
Kim labels South Korea, Japan, America cooperation 'Asian NATO'
Reuters reported that Kim also urged officials to promote further solidarity with the nations opposing the US, denouncing trilateral cooperation between South Korea, Japan, and America as the "Asian-version North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO)." "This is just the worst actual threat, not threatening rhetoric or an imaginary entity," the supreme leader added.
US soldier heads home after North Korea expels him
Separately, US soldier Private Travis King, who entered North Korea in July, is now under American custody and will return to the US after the North expelled him to China. While the circumstances surrounding the diplomatic efforts that allowed King's transfer are still not fully disclosed, the Associated Press (AP) reported that the incident represents a significant instance of cooperation between North Korea, China, and America. Reports also suggested that King is scheduled to arrive in America later on Thursday.
