North Korea Blames US for Global Nuclear Order Crisis as It Defends Arsenal
Pyongyang accused Washington of worsening global nuclear instability and cited US military partnerships in Asia as it renewed its case for retaining and expanding its own nuclear deterrent.
North Korea accused the United States of pushing the global nuclear order into what it called its worst crisis, using the charge to justify Pyongyang’s own nuclear weapons program and its plans to strengthen that arsenal.
The claim appeared Tuesday in a North Korean Foreign Ministry memorandum carried by the state-run Korean Central News Agency. The document argued that Washington had abandoned its disarmament responsibilities as a nuclear-armed state while expanding and modernizing its nuclear forces. Pyongyang said those policies left it with no choice but to take a more active role as what it described as a responsible nuclear-weapon state.
The memorandum followed remarks by North Korean Vice Foreign Minister Kim Son-gyong at the United Nations General Assembly in New York. Kim said the country’s nuclear program was an irresistible force required to defend North Korea’s sovereignty and security from external threats. Taken together, the statements reinforced Pyongyang’s position that its nuclear status is a permanent element of national defense rather than a bargaining chip to be surrendered.
North Korea also sought to place its weapons policy within a wider argument about arms competition. It blamed the United States for global nuclear proliferation, pointing to Washington’s force buildup, modernization programs and withdrawal from arms-control agreements. The memorandum did not limit its criticism to US weapons alone, instead portraying American-led security cooperation as part of the same trend.
In particular, Pyongyang cited US cooperation with South Korea and Japan on nuclear-powered submarines, as well as AUKUS, the security partnership linking the United States, Britain and Australia. It presented those arrangements as evidence that a nuclear alliance is taking shape across the Asia-Pacific region. North Korea further claimed that such cooperation could eventually lead South Korea to pursue nuclear weapons of its own.
That assertion directly connects Pyongyang’s broader critique of the international nuclear system to security policy on the Korean Peninsula. South Korea remains protected by the US extended-deterrence commitment, while North Korea continues to frame allied military coordination as a threat requiring a stronger response.
The memorandum said the security environment would guide North Korea’s future actions as it seeks to protect what it called the interests of the country and the region. Its language offered no indication of restraint. Instead, the document used international arms-control disputes and evolving regional partnerships to support Pyongyang’s long-standing rationale for preserving its nuclear forces.