North Korea enshrined its policy of exponentially growing its nuclear forces into its constitution, in a show of defiance to US requests to return to stalled talks through which Pyongyang could secure economic aid in exchange for disarmament.
Leader Kim Jong Un told a session of the Supreme People’s Assembly — its rubber-stamp legislature — he was making the move to counter threats from the US and its partners to stifle Pyongyang’s atomic ambitions and destroy its system.
Kim also stressed “the need to push ahead with the work for exponentially boosting the production of nuclear weapons and diversifying the nuclear strike means and deploying them in different services,” KCNA said. His speech appears to have coincided with his country’s decision to expel US soldier Travis King, who entered North Korea without permission in July.
While Kim has repeatedly surprised his doubters with the expansion of his missile program, his heavily sanctioned state appears to lack the domestic capacity to quickly double, triple or quadruple his production of weapons-grade uranium and plutonium. At best, he might hope to ratchet up his output of fissile material, which non-proliferation experts estimate could be used to arm about a half dozen bombs each year.
The trip raised the possibility that North Korea might be looking at technology transfers of dual-use materials that could be delivered under the guise of helping its civilian space and nuclear programs and still appear to be in accordance with international norms. But the materials could also be used to further North Korea’s ability to build missiles and nuclear bombs — in violation of United Nations Security Council resolutions.
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