North Korea concluded its weeklong Ninth Party Congress on Wednesday by cementing leader Kim Jong Un’s ambitious military modernization agenda, permanently rejecting ties with South Korea and leaving the door open to talks with the U.S. — but only if Washington accepts Pyongyang’s “nuclear status.”

Kim told some 5,000 delegates that the country’s “irreversible” nuclear arsenal will never be up for negotiation, while unveiling a new five-year weapons development plan that emphasizes AI-powered unmanned attack systems, anti-satellite weapons and electronic warfare platforms designed to paralyze enemy command centers.

The leader also dismissed ROK President Lee Jae Myung’s conciliatory overturesas