ISTANBUL
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un reiterated that his country's status as a nuclear-armed state "will never change" while formally recognizing South Korea as the “most hostile nation,” state media reported Tuesday.
In a speech Monday on the second and final day of the first session of the newly elected 15th Supreme People's Assembly, Kim vowed to further advance North Korea's "defensive nuclear deterrence" and maintain a "prompt and precise" response posture for its nuclear forces to address "strategic threats" to national and regional security.
North Korea "will continue to solidify its status as a nuclear weapons state...while aggressively staging campaigns to crush any provocations by hostile forces," he said.
He warned South Korea of "merciless consequences" if it carries out any acts that provoke Pyongyang, the Korean Central News Agency reported.
North Korea has formally recognized South Korea "as the most hostile nation and will thoroughly ignore and disregard it through the clearest remarks and actions," Kim said.
Reacting to Kim's remarks, South Korea's presidential office reiterated its commitment to "peaceful coexistence" with Pyongyang under a "long-term perspective."
"The government maintains that the continued use of hostile rhetoric does not help foster peaceful coexistence at all," the Yonhap news agency quoted a senior presidential official as saying.
"What guarantees the safety and prosperity of both Koreas on the Korean Peninsula lies not in hostility and confrontation, but in peaceful coexistence through dialogue and cooperation," the official added.
North Korea's constitution calls for the peaceful reunification of the two Koreas, and Pyongyang had been expected to amend the provision after Kim ordered a legal revision in 2024 to define South Korea as "the No. 1 hostile country," Yonhap News Agency reported.
Kim also accused the US of global “state terrorism and aggression,” in an apparent reference to the war in the Middle East and said Pyongyang will play a more forceful role in a united front against Washington.
Without calling out US President Donald Trump by name, Kim said whether his adversaries “choose confrontation or peaceful coexistence is up to them, and we are prepared to respond to any choice.”
An official at Seoul's Unification Ministry took note of Kim's remarks that his country is prepared for both confrontation and peaceful coexistence, assessing that while he continued to criticize Washington, the criticism appeared limited in intensity.
The official reaffirmed the government's policy of seeking to improve ties with North Korea, vowing continued efforts to that end.