Konstantin Asmolov, a leading researcher at the Institute of China and Modern Asia at the Russian Academy of Sciences, told Izvestiya on September 9 that North Korea had declared itself a responsible nuclear state in response to the technical superiority of potential adversaries.
Yesterday it was reported that North Korea approved a new law that gives the state the right to launch a preventive nuclear strike on the enemy if Pyongyang considers the threat imminent, and also allows the country to launch a nuclear strike on the enemy automatically in the event of an attack.
“In general, this, of course, is similar to the Russian doctrine, but there are some points that give a wider range of use of nuclear weapons, including in response to non-nuclear threats, because, of course, for North Korea, nuclear weapons are a kind of symmetrical response. on the technical superiority of potential adversaries,” Asmolov said.
Also on September 8, North Korean leader Kim Jong-un also said that North Korea will continue to “strengthen its nuclear readiness and expand its ability to use nuclear weapons.” He stressed that the country is not going to and will not negotiate on denuclearization.
On August 3, North Korea’s permanent mission to the UN said North Korea has the right to possess nuclear weapons for self-defense after withdrawing from the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty. The mission responded accordingly to the accusations made against the DPRK that the country had nuclear weapons.
Two days earlier, US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken said that North Korea was preparing to conduct its seventh nuclear test. He called the country’s nuclear program illegal.
At the end of July, Kim Jong-un said that the DPRK was ready for military clashes with the United States. According to Petr Kolchin, an analyst with the Center for Expert Support of Political Processes, North Korea has demonstrated its readiness to face challenges from potential adversaries.
Meanwhile, analyst Sergei Kondratiev assessed the nuclear danger of the DPRK as low. Despite advances in rocket science, Pyongyang still has trouble developing nuclear weapon delivery systems. It is also important that North Korea is not interested in open conflict with other countries, Kondratiev stressed.
Pyongyang announced its withdrawal from the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty in 1993. The state finally withdrew from it in January 2003. In September 2017, the DPRK announced the successful explosion of a hydrogen charge, after which it announced the completion of the development of nuclear weapons, declaring itself a nuclear power.
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