North Korean leader Kim Jong Un said Thursday his country could “completely destroy” South Korea if it feels threatened, escalating rhetoric and ruling out renewed talks.
Speaking at the ninth congress of the ruling Workers’ Party in Pyongyang, Kim labeled South Korea the “most hostile enemy” and said that “the conciliatory attitude that South Korea’s current government advocates on the surface is clumsily deceptive and rude,” state media Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) reported.
Kim said North Korea may “initiate arbitrary action” if South Korea engages in “unpleasant behavior” against his country, dismissing Seoul’s recent efforts to improve relations.
“The complete collapse of South Korea cannot be ruled out,” Kim said, according to KCNA.
North Korean leader Kim Jong-un spoke during the ninth congress of the ruling Workers’ Party in Pyongyang on February 23, 2026. (Korean Central News Agency via REUTERS)
During the conference, Kim outlined sweeping five-year policy goals aimed at expanding North Korea’s nuclear arsenal. The country is believed to have about 50 nuclear warheads and enough fissile material to produce another 40, according to an estimate last year from the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute.
The North Korean leader said the country’s “international status has risen extraordinarily.”
“It is our party’s firm determination to further expand and strengthen our national nuclear power, and thoroughly exercise its status as a nuclear state,” Kim said, according to KCNA. “We will focus on projects to increase the number of nuclear weapons and expand nuclear operational resources.”
NORTH KOREA RELEASES IMAGES OF NUCLEAR POWERED SUBMARINE DEVELOPMENT
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un was re-elected as general secretary at the Ninth Congress of the Workers’ Party of Korea (WPK) in Pyongyang, North Korea, on February 22, 2026. (Korean Central News Agency via REUTERS)
Kim laid out plans for North Korea to develop more advanced intercontinental ballistic missiles capable of underwater launches, along with artificial intelligence-powered weapons systems and unmanned drones, KCNA reported.
Kim, who met with President Donald Trump three times during Trump’s first term, indicated he may be open to future negotiations with Washington but placed the responsibility squarely on the United States.
“Whether it is peaceful coexistence or permanent confrontation, we are ready for both, and the choice is not ours,” he said.
NORTH KOREAN LEADER KIM JONG UN’S DAUGHTER SEEN AS FUTURE SUCCESSOR: SPY AGENCY
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and his daughter Kim Ju Ae attended an event to celebrate the New Year in Pyongyang, North Korea. (KCNA via Reuters)
Kim said that if the US withdraws “its policy of confrontation” with North Korea and recognizes the country’s “current status”, there would be “no reason why we cannot get along well with the US.”
According to KCNA, Kim’s teenage daughter attended a military parade in Pyongyang after the congress on Wednesday. Ju Ae, believed to be 13 or 14 years old, was photographed next to her father and senior military leaders.
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Her move comes after South Korean media reported that Kim had recently given her a leadership role in the regime’s powerful ‘Missile Administration’, which oversees Pyongyang’s nuclear forces.
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