North Korea wants to make its navy part of its nuclear deterrent

“From now on, the naval force of the Korean People's Army (KPA) will become part of the national nuclear deterrent force, assigned with strategic tasks,” the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) quoted leader Kim Jong-un as saying.

In addition, Mr. Kim also announced that all branches of the armed forces will receive new equipment under the policy of expanding the use of tactical nuclear weapons, aiming to build a nuclear armed force. However, he did not specify what equipment he was referring to.

According to the North Korean leader, the single control system of the Central Committee of the Workers' Party of Korea must be adopted so that the North Korean Navy is always "combat-ready" and can "destroy the target designated by the Central Committee when the opportunity comes."

“War is not only a confrontation between means and equipment but also a confrontation between ideas, ideals and morals,” he said.

Mr. Kim Jong-Un also emphasized that the secret to rapidly developing the navy's combat capabilities lies in vigorously promoting equipment upgrades and organizing drills in "real combat situations."

According to KCNA, in the context of the US, South Korea and Japan strengthening security cooperation, the sea off the Korean Peninsula has become "the most unstable sea area with the risk of nuclear war", Mr. Kim Jong-un asked the navy to maintain a state of combat readiness.

“The current situation requires our naval forces to make every effort to improve their combat readiness to maintain a state of constant combat alert, be ready to break the enemy's will to war in unexpected situations, and carry out the military operations of the Supreme Command,” Kim stressed.

The North Korean leader also criticized the leaders of the United States, Japan and South Korea for holding a summit earlier this month.

At the event, the three leaders of the US, Japan and South Korea reached a series of agreements, including a commitment to quickly consult each other in the event of common threats, hold annual joint military exercises and pursue enhanced ballistic missile defense cooperation to deal with North Korea's nuclear and missile threats.