June 10, 2023
Columns

North Korea’s new nuclear law makes the world a more dangerous place

US will find it harder to sell arms control to the public after DPRK says it will never give up its nukes

At a rubber-stamp parliament this month, Kim Jong Un declared that North Korea will remain a nuclear state “as long as imperialism exists on Earth.”

At first glance, there was nothing new or surprising in this statement, which Kim made in a speech introducing the regime’s new nuclear law: As early as 2012, North Korea amended its constitution to include a reference to the country’s nuclear status. Already some have argued the new policy changes little.