North Korea's New Law Allows For Nuclear 1st Strike, Makes Policy "Irreversible"

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• Sep 10, 2022 | Dhupali Das

The declaration comes amid increased tension between the North and the South, with Pyongyang accusing Seoul of being...

Digital Desk: North Korea has passed laws declaring its readiness to launch preventive nuclear strikes, including in the face of conventional attacks, state media said on Friday.

The decision effectively ends the chance of denuclearisation discussions, with leader Kim Jong Un declaring that the country's nuclear status is now "irreversible."

The declaration comes amid increased tension between the North and the South, with Pyongyang accusing Seoul of being responsible for the Covid-19 outbreak in its territory and carrying out a record number of weapons tests this year.

According to the official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA), North Korea can carry out a preventative nuclear strike "automatically" and "immediately to destroy the hostile forces" when a foreign power poses an urgent threat.

According to state media, the law clearly specifies that the North can use nuclear weapons "in the event of a nuclear or non-nuclear attack by hostile forces against the state leadership and the command organization of the state's nuclear forces," among other conditions.

"The status of our country as a nuclear weapons state has become irreversible," Kim said, KCNA reported.

The law "publicly authorizes Pyongyang's use of nuclear power" in the event of a military battle, according to Cheong Seong-chang of the Sejong Institute's Center for North Korean Studies.

As the North's dictator, "Kim Jong Un does not need laws to launch a nuclear strike," but the new law serves as a way to "vindicate Kim's use of nuclear weapons in case of emergency by disclosing the principles of nuclear use at home and abroad in advance," he added.

In July, Kim declared that his nation was prepared to "mobilize" its nuclear arsenal in the case of a war between the South and the United States.

He emphasized that Pyongyang would never give up the nuclear weapons it needs to defend against attacks from Washington and said that the US was working to bring about the "collapse" of his regime.

Nuclear discussions and diplomacy between Washington and Pyongyang have been stalled since 2019 due to disagreements about sanctions relief and what the North is willing to give up in exchange.

"There is absolutely no such thing as giving up nuclear weapons first, and there is no denuclearisation and no negotiation for it," Kim said during a speech at North Korea's rubber-stamp parliament on Thursday, KCNA reported.

Since January, North Korea has conducted a series of weapons tests, including the shooting of an intercontinental ballistic missile at maximum range for the first time since 2017.

Officials in Washington and South Korea have regularly expressed concern that the North is getting ready to conduct what would be its seventh nuclear test.

A scholar at the University of North Korean Studies, Yang Moo-jin said Pyongyang's most recent pronouncement amply reiterated Pyongyang's position, which is that nuclear negotiations are no longer an option.

"Pyongyang is likely to form closer ties with China and Russia against Washington, and ... launch its seventh nuclear test in the near future," he told AFP.

The State Department in Washington stated that it is still committed to "the total denuclearization of the Korean peninsula."

"We have made clear we have no hostile intent" toward North Korea, a spokesperson said, but added that Pyongyang continues to ignore overtures for talks.

"The United States remains fully committed to the defense of the Republic of Korea (South Korea) using the full range of US defense capabilities," the spokesperson said.

Seoul, Washington's top security ally, offered Pyongyang an "audacious" aid package last month that included food, energy, and infrastructure assistance in exchange for the North relinquishing its nuclear weapons program.

The proposal was scorned by Pyongyang, who referred to it as the "height of insanity" and a deal that the North would never accept.

Yoon Suk-yeol, the hawkish president of South Korea, declared last month that his country had no ambitions to develop its own nuclear deterrent.