Nuclear armament as a fundamental right
North Korea enshrines nuclear weapons in its constitution
September 28, 2023, 5:43 a.m
North Korea has enshrined its status as a nuclear weapons power in its constitution. Strengthening the nuclear force is therefore a basic idea of North Korean policy.
The North Korean parliament unanimously amended its constitution at a two-day session and made the construction of nuclear weapons a fundamental right of the state. As the state news agency KCNA reported, the constitutional amendment now requires North Korea to “develop high-level nuclear weapons to secure its right to exist” and to “deter war.”
In his speech to parliament, ruler Kim Jong Un emphasized that no one should violate this fundamental right of the state. He called for the production of nuclear weapons to be “exponentially increased” and used, as the US had gone to extremes with its military provocations and the deployment of strategic facilities in the region.
The constitutional change comes a year after North Korea officially enshrined in law the right to carry out preemptive nuclear strikes for its own protection. North Korea has already carried out numerous missile tests this year, raising tensions with South Korea. Washington and Seoul have been warning for months that North Korea could test a nuclear weapon in the near future. It would be the first such test since 2017.