North Korea has pledged to significantly strengthen its nuclear capabilities and modernise its armed forces, state media reported on Friday, following a high-level meeting of the ruling Workers' Party's Central Military Commission. Supreme Leader Kim Jong Un declared that only a "strong military" could guarantee the country's peace and security, framing the build-up as a defensive necessity against external threats.
The official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) reported that the commission outlined plans to expand the country's nuclear force both qualitatively and quantitatively — language analysts interpret as signalling an increase in warhead production alongside efforts to enhance the credibility and reach of North Korea's nuclear deterrent. Pyongyang is already estimated to possess between 40 and 60 nuclear warheads, as well as ballistic missiles. Experts suggest the qualitative dimension could involve nuclear-armed submarines, which would give North Korea a second-strike capability and allow it to threaten targets from virtually any location — though acquiring such vessels is expected to take considerable time.
Beyond nuclear weapons, the commission announced plans to accelerate the construction of modern naval bases, upgrade combat systems, and significantly expand the functions of the General Reconnaissance and Intelligence Bureau, the military intelligence agency responsible for operations targeting South Korea. North Korea, already considered the world's most militarised country relative to its population, appears to be capitalising on what analysts describe as a relatively favourable economic moment to invest heavily in defence infrastructure.
The announcement comes against a backdrop of persistent tensions on the Korean Peninsula, a peninsula in East Asia divided since the 1950–53 Korean War into the nuclear-armed North and the US-allied South. Last month, a North Korean soldier was reportedly taken into custody by South Korean forces after crossing the Demilitarised Zone — one of the world's most heavily fortified borders, lined with barbed wire, land mines, and extensive surveillance systems. The US Congressional Research Service has noted that Pyongyang's nuclear programme, which has included six confirmed weapons tests since 2006, poses a growing threat to the United States and East Asia as a whole.
The latest pledges underscore the challenge facing regional powers and the international community. With North Korea signalling an intent to push its arsenal further in both scale and sophistication, diplomatic efforts to constrain the programme face an increasingly complex landscape. For neighbouring South Korea and Japan, as well as for US forces stationed in the region, Pyongyang's continued military expansion keeps security calculations under constant pressure.