North Korean leader Kim Jong Un says his country will never give up the nuclear weapons and missiles it needs to counter hostilities from the United States, which he has accused of waging a pressure campaign aimed at weakening the North’s defenses and finally the collapse of his authoritarian government. State media reported on Friday that Kim made the comments during a speech to North Korea’s parliament on Thursday, where members also passed a law authorizing North Korea’s military to carry out “automatic” nuclear strikes against enemy forces if his leadership is attacked. Kim’s comments underscored rising regional tensions as he accelerates the expansion of his nuclear weapons and missile program. In recent months he has issued increasingly provocative threats of nuclear conflict to the United States and its allies in Asia, also warning that the North would preemptively use its nuclear weapons when threatened. Diplomacy between Washington and Pyongyang has been derailed since 2019 over disagreements in exchange for the lifting of crippling sanctions against the North and the North’s denuclearization steps. Kim has conducted weapons tests at a record pace this year, launching more than 30 ballistic weapons, including the first demonstrations of his intercontinental ballistic missiles since 2017. U.S. and South Korean officials say Kim may soon step up by ordering the North’s first nuclear test in five years as he pushes for a push aimed at forcing Washington to accept the North’s idea of a nuclear power and negotiate concessions from a position of strength.
