The dignity of the nation can only be guaranteed by the strongest of power.
In the long arc of the Korean peninsula's divided history, Kim Jong Un has now drawn what he intends to be a permanent line: North Korea's nuclear arsenal is no longer a bargaining chip but a founding condition of the state itself. Speaking before his parliament in late March, Kim formally abandoned the language of reconciliation with the South while leaving, with careful ambiguity, a narrow passage open toward Washington. It is the posture of a leader who believes time and weapons are on his side — and who is wagering that the world will eventually accept what he has made irreversible.
- Kim's declaration that North Korea's nuclear status is 'absolutely irreversible' marks a decisive break from decades of diplomatic ambiguity, hardening a position that leaves little room for the disarmament demands the U.S. has long insisted upon.
- By branding South Korea the 'most hostile' state on earth and constitutionally erasing references to shared nationhood, Kim has severed the South's traditional role as diplomatic bridge — a move that reshapes the entire architecture of peninsula negotiations.
- Thousands of North Korean troops deployed to support Russia's war in Ukraine signal a deepening strategic partnership that analysts believe is yielding military technology transfers and quiet backing for Pyongyang's nuclear ambitions.
- Kim pointedly avoided naming Trump while leaving the door to dialogue conditionally open, a calculated signal that talks could resume — but only if Washington abandons nuclear disarmament as a precondition.
- The long-term trajectory, as analysts read it, points toward Kim seeking sanctions relief and tacit international recognition as a nuclear state, playing a patient game while his arsenal and alliances continue to grow.
Kim Jong Un stood before North Korea's parliament in late March and made a declaration designed to outlast any administration or negotiation: his country's nuclear arsenal is permanent, and no future diplomacy will be permitted to undo it. In the same address, he abandoned all pretense of eventual reconciliation with South Korea, labeling it the world's 'most hostile' state — a stunning reversal of decades of official rhetoric about shared nationhood. The parliament also passed constitutional revisions during its two-day session, moves observers believe formally enshrine Seoul as a permanent enemy and strip away any remaining language of Korean kinship.
Yet the speech carried a deliberate paradox. Kim leveled fierce accusations at the United States — invoking 'state terrorism' and Middle Eastern wars as evidence of American aggression — but conspicuously avoided naming Donald Trump. He left open the question of confrontation or coexistence, framing it as Washington's choice to make. It was a formulation harsh enough for domestic consumption but carefully constructed to keep a diplomatic door ajar.
Analysts see Kim's hardened stance toward Seoul as strategic rather than merely rhetorical. South Korea, once the broker of his historic 2018 and 2019 summits with Trump, has become an obstacle rather than an asset — a democratic neighbor whose cultural exports he treats as a security threat, aggressively suppressing South Korean music, television, and language inside the North. In its place, Kim has cultivated Russia, sending troops and military equipment to support Moscow's war in Ukraine in what observers believe is an exchange for technology, aid, and tacit nuclear endorsement.
Dialogue with Washington has been frozen since the 2019 Hanoi summit collapsed over sanctions. But Kim's careful language suggests he may be positioning for a future opening — one in which he arrives not as a supplicant offering disarmament, but as a nuclear power seeking recognition and relief on his own terms. What he has made unmistakably clear is that the arsenal itself is no longer on the table.
Kim Jong Un stood before North Korea's parliament on a Monday in late March and made a declaration that will shape the peninsula's future for years to come: his country's nuclear arsenal is now permanent, irreversible, and here to stay. In remarks to the rubber-stamp legislature, the North Korean leader drew a sharp line between his nation's past and its future, abandoning any pretense that unification with the South remains a goal worth pursuing. Instead, he branded South Korea the "most hostile" state on earth—a stunning reversal from decades of rhetoric about eventual reconciliation.
Yet the speech contained a paradox that analysts are still parsing. While Kim hurled accusations at the United States, calling it a practitioner of "state terrorism and aggression" and invoking the Middle East wars as evidence, he pointedly did not name Donald Trump. More tellingly, he suggested that whether his adversaries "choose confrontation or peaceful coexistence is up to them, and we are prepared to respond to any choice." It was a careful formulation—harsh enough to satisfy hardliners at home, but with a door left deliberately ajar.
The parliament also passed a revised constitution during its two-day session, though state media did not disclose the specific changes. Observers had anticipated that the revisions would formally enshrine South Korea as a permanent enemy and strip away references to shared nationhood—moves that would codify on paper what Kim has already declared in practice. In 2024, he had already announced that the North was abandoning its long-standing aspiration for peaceful unification, a seismic shift in the regime's official ideology.
Analysts interpret Kim's hardened stance toward Seoul as a calculation about power and leverage. South Korea, which had brokered his first meetings with Trump in 2018 and 2019, is no longer useful to him as an intermediary. Instead, it has become an obstacle—a democratic neighbor whose cultural influence he views as a threat to his grip on power. He has launched aggressive campaigns to block South Korean music, television, and language from reaching North Koreans, treating soft power as a security risk. At the same time, he has been cultivating a very different relationship: with Russia. Thousands of North Korean troops and substantial quantities of military equipment have flowed into Ukraine to support Moscow's war effort, a move that analysts believe is designed to secure aid, military technology, and perhaps tacit support for his nuclear program.
In his parliamentary address, Kim expressed unmistakable pride in the nuclear arsenal his regime has built. He called the expansion of weapons and missiles the "right" choice, necessary to counter future threats and what he termed the "hegemonic pursuits" of "gangsterlike" imperialists—the North's standard epithet for the United States and its allies. "The dignity of the nation, its national interest and its ultimate victory can only be guaranteed by the strongest of power," he said, before pledging that his government would "continue to consolidate our absolutely irreversible status as a nuclear power."
Meaningful dialogue between Pyongyang and Washington has been frozen since 2019, when Kim's second summit with Trump collapsed over the question of sanctions. But some analysts believe Kim may be positioning himself to revive talks at some point, albeit on terms far more favorable to the North than anything previously discussed. The long game, as they see it, is to secure sanctions relief and international recognition as a nuclear power—something the United States has historically refused to grant. Whether recent events, including joint U.S.-Israeli military action against Iran and the killing of Iran's supreme leader, have raised Kim's expectations for what he might demand in any future negotiation remains an open question. What is clear is that he has chosen to keep his options open while making his nuclear commitment irreversible.
Citas Notables
Whether his adversaries choose confrontation or peaceful coexistence is up to them, and we are prepared to respond to any choice.— Kim Jong Un, in parliamentary address
The government of our republic will continue to consolidate our absolutely irreversible status as a nuclear power.— Kim Jong Un, in parliamentary address
La Conversación del Hearth Otra perspectiva de la historia
Why would Kim leave the door open to Trump if he's simultaneously declaring his nuclear status permanent and irreversible?
Because those two things aren't contradictory for him. He's saying: we have nuclear weapons, we're keeping them, that's non-negotiable. But if you want to talk about something else—sanctions relief, recognition, economic engagement—we can discuss it. He's trying to shift the conversation away from disarmament.
And South Korea being called "most hostile"—that's a real break from the past, isn't it?
It is. For decades, the official line was that unification was possible, that the South was a wayward brother. Now he's saying it's an enemy. That's not rhetoric changing; that's ideology changing. It tells you he's given up on the idea of absorbing the South and is instead focused on consolidating power at home and building alliances elsewhere.
The troops going to Ukraine—is that desperation or strategy?
It's strategy. He's betting that Russia will give him things in return: military technology, economic support, diplomatic cover. And he's hedging. If the U.S. won't talk to him, maybe Russia will help him survive. It's a very different foreign policy than the one he inherited.
So what does he actually want from the Trump administration?
Sanctions relief, most likely. And tacit acceptance that North Korea is a nuclear power. He's not asking to give up the weapons. He's asking the world to accept that he has them and move on to negotiating something else.
And if Trump doesn't offer that?
Then Kim has already signaled he's prepared for confrontation. But he's left himself room to claim he tried.