Kim Jong-un ordered the expansion of North Korea's nuclear arsenal

This Monday, North Korean dictator Kim Jong-un ordered a rapid expansion of the country's nuclear arsenal, claiming that the recent joint military exercises between the United States and South Korea represent a direct act of war provocation.

Kim made these statements during the launch ceremony of the new destroyer Choe Hyon at the western port of Nampo. According to North Korean state media, this 5,000-ton (11,023 pounds) vessel will be capable of carrying nuclear missiles and will enter into operation in 2026.

The Choe Hyon is the second destroyer of its class. Its predecessor, the Kang Kon, suffered a failed launch in May, which caused severe damage to the lower part of the ship, an incident that Kim described as a "serious accident and criminal act" and treated as a national humiliation.

The dictator expands his nuclear arsenal out of fear of external threats.

In an attempt to restore the image and pride of his armed forces, the North Korean leader announced that a third destroyer is already under construction at the same Nampo shipyard. He assured that once all three destroyers are operational, the North Korean Navy will play a key role in handling nuclear weaponry.

Kim declared that "the security environment around the DPRK (Democratic People's Republic of Korea) is worsening every day" and that the current situation requires a radical and rapid change both in military theory and practice, including an accelerated expansion of the nuclear capability of the isolationist nation.

This nuclear rhetoric comes in a context of growing tension on the Korean Peninsula. The immediate trigger, according to the Pyongyang regime, was the annual Ulchi Freedom Shield (UFS) military exercise, a joint maneuver between the United States and South Korea.

The regime, increasingly aggressive.

Although these military maneuvers are routine and defensive in nature, North Korea denounces them every year as general rehearsals for an invasion. Even though the South Korean administration under communist president Lee Jae-myung declared that it has no intention of undertaking hostile actions against the North.

This conciliatory policy failed to prevent Kim Jong-un's criticism, who claimed that the exercises were even more threatening than in previous years, as they supposedly included "nuclear elements."

This was quickly refuted by analysts and independent media: neither this year nor in previous exercises have nuclear weapon simulations been included. However, experts explained that Pyongyang tends to interpret any allied exercise, large or small, as a nuclear threat, which it then uses as justification for its own arms expansion.

This recent push toward nuclearization is also framed within an increasingly aggressive political stance by the Juche regime. In 2024, the dictator officially abandoned the policy of peaceful reunification with the South, amending the North Korean constitution to declare Seoul as a "permanent enemy" and destroying a monument that symbolized the hope of reunification.