North Korea to Arm Navy with Nuclear Weapons

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has ordered the nation’s navy to begin arming itself with nuclear weapons.

According to the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) on Wednesday, Kim—who on Tuesday attended a missile test aboard the country’s first destroyer—declared, “It is high time to make a responsible option for accelerating the nuclearization of the Navy in order to defend the state and its maritime sovereignty from existing and future threats.”

This announcement follows the formalization of North Korea’s new military alliance with Russia, which has already seen North Korean troops fighting alongside Russian forces in the Kursk region. The regime now appears to be initiating a broad modernization of its military, likely with Russian assistance.

Since the 2023 rapprochement between Pyongyang and Moscow—marked by a summit between Russian President Vladimir Putin and Kim at the Vostochny Cosmodrome in Russia’s Amur Oblast—North Korea has made notable military advancements. These developments are widely believed to have been facilitated by Russian support.

In 2024, North Korea unveiled its intermediate-range hypersonic missile, the Hwasongpho-16B, and over the past two years, it has successfully launched several satellites that reportedly enhanced its intelligence-gathering capabilities.

Just one day after reports confirmed the presence of North Korean troops in Kursk, news emerged that the Trump administration is exploring options to restart nuclear talks with Pyongyang. However, analysts have pointed out that Washington now holds little leverage, given North Korea’s strengthened military and political standing—much of it stemming from its strategic and military alliance with Russia.

On Monday, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov reaffirmed that, under the Treaty on Comprehensive Strategic Partnership, Russia would provide military support to North Korea if it were attacked.