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North Korea's vice-defence minister told the Beijing Xiangshan Forum that US-led military build-up and a Washington-Seoul-Tokyo nuclear alliance justify Pyongyang's continued expansion of its nuclear arsenal, declaring its nuclear-weapons status irreversible.

What is a key fact in this story? (1)

**Kim Kang Il**, North Korea's vice-defence minister, told the Beijing Xiangshan Forum on Sept 17 that US-led nuclear arms build-up and trilateral US-South Korea-Japan cooperation justified expanding the DPRK's nuclear deterrent as 'self-defensive.'

What is a key fact in this story? (2)

**Kim Kang Il** declared North Korea's status as a nuclear weapons state a 'line of no retreat' and urged other countries to abandon the 'daydream' of denuclearisation, blaming Washington's 'invariable' hostile policy for peninsula tensions.

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North Korea defends nuclear buildup at Beijing forum — SkimNews

By Straits Times Asia · Summarized & edited by Kapil Samant · 2026-09-17

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Kim Kang Il, North Korea's vice-defence minister, told the Beijing Xiangshan Forum on Sept 17 that US-led nuclear arms build-up and trilateral US-South Korea-Japan cooperation justified expanding the DPRK's nuclear deterrent as 'self-defensive.'
Kim Kang Il declared North Korea's status as a nuclear weapons state a 'line of no retreat' and urged other countries to abandon the 'daydream' of denuclearisation, blaming Washington's 'invariable' hostile policy for peninsula tensions.
Kim Yo Jong, the sister of leader Kim Jong Un, issued a parallel Sept 17 statement via KCNA rejecting renewed denuclearisation calls after the IAEA's annual meeting, calling North Korea's nuclear status 'absolute' and dismissing denuclearisation demands as annual 'noise.'
A North Korean defence ministry spokesman said on Sept 16 that recent US-South Korean 'weapons-of-mass-destruction response planning' amounted to an 'open declaration of confrontation,' warning Pyongyang could invoke provisions of its nuclear force policy law.
Lim Eul-chul, a professor at Kyungnam University's Institute for Far Eastern Studies, said the three statements form a broader messaging campaign to cement North Korea's claim of an 'irreversible stage' nuclear status and create justification for future military activities.
Kim Kang Il declined to confirm whether a summit between US President Donald Trump and Kim Jong Un could take place; his rare high-profile appearance at the forum came as Pyongyang seeks closer ties with Beijing amid tensions with Washington.

Why it matters: Three separate North Korean voices — the vice-defence minister at a multilateral forum, Kim Yo Jong via state media, and a defence ministry spokesman — converged within 24 hours on Sept 16-17 to declare denuclearisation dead and frame continued nuclear expansion as a forced response to US-South Korea-Japan exercises, foreclosing diplomatic off-ramps and raising the stakes for any future Trump-Kim Jong Un meeting.