At a three-day Workers' Party plenum ending Monday, North Korean leader Kim Jong Un declared that exercising the country's position as a nuclear weapons state is the "most correct and unique way" to confront an unpredictable international security environment, state media KCNA reported. The party unanimously adopted a resolution to "steadily expand and strengthen the nuclear forces" and ordered the acceleration of a 10,000-ton strategic guided missile cruiser and the buildup of conventional weapons. Kim said that "unimaginable, astonishing incidents" were occurring because of the "gangster-like" greed of hegemonic forces, blaming the United States for worsening bloodshed in Europe and the Middle East.

Pyongyang's rhetoric directly linked the nuclear push to what it described as US and South Korean actions pushing the Korean peninsula "to the brink of a nuclear war." KCNA cited joint nuclear planning between Washington and Seoul and South Korea's pursuit of a nuclear-powered submarine as justification. In a new rhetorical escalation, Kim accused Japan of openly transforming itself into a "war state" and seizing on current instability to become a military power. Tokyo's chief cabinet secretary Minoru Kihara rejected the criticism as "off the mark," stating that Japan's self-defence policy remains unchanged and its capabilities are limited to the minimum necessary. Japanese officials noted they are cautiously monitoring Pyongyang's stance toward China, as Beijing has previously voiced opposition to what it calls Japan's "new militarism."

Analysts in Seoul assess that the party's language effectively closes any remaining room for denuclearisation negotiations. Hong Min of the Korea Institute for National Unification said the wording treats North Korea's nuclear status as an irreversible fait accompli and signals an intent to use nuclear weapons as a permanent diplomatic and strategic lever. Yang Moo-jin of the University of North Korean Studies added that Pyongyang would only engage in talks "as a nuclear weapons state on an equal footing," potentially focusing on arms reduction rather than dismantlement, which would require sanctions relief and fundamentally differ from phased denuclearisation proposals. The plenum also highlighted plans to modernise the coal industry to ease chronic energy shortages.

North Korea has defied multiple UN and US sanctions imposed between 2006 and 2017 and has repeatedly declared itself an irreversible nuclear state since the 2019 Hanoi summit between Kim and then-US President Donald Trump collapsed over the scope of denuclearisation and sanctions relief. South Korean President Lee Jae Myung said last week that he told Trump at the G7 summit in France that sanctions on the North were "ineffective," and that Trump agreed it was time to pay attention to the North Korea issue. Kim's sister, Kim Yo Jong, earlier this month called the nuclear policy a "line of no retreat." No new diplomatic initiative has been announced, and the party plenum's decisions point to a further acceleration of weapons development in the coming months.