North Korea Signals Nuclear Force Expansion, Saying "Won't Give Trump Anything to Boast About" (Summary)

Ri Son-gwon Foreign Minister's Statement on the 2nd Anniversary of the June 12 North Korea-US Summit
Suggests Nuclear Force Enhancement and Singapore Declaration Abrogation
Leaves Room While Not Disclosing Details to North Korean Residents

Ri Son-gwon, North Korean Foreign Minister (then Chairman of the Committee for the Peaceful Reunification of the Fatherland), raised his forearm toward Cho Myoung-gyon, Minister of Unification, during the inter-Korean high-level talks in June 2018, saying, "There was a tree stump as thick as an arm blocking the progress of inter-Korean relations."

North Korean Foreign Minister Ri Son-gwon stated on the 12th, "Our Republic's unwavering strategic goal is to build a more reliable force to manage the United States' long-term military threat," hinting at strengthening nuclear war deterrence and the annulment of the Singapore Agreement.

In a statement released through the North Korean state media Korean Central News Agency on the same day, marking the second anniversary of the June 12 North Korea-U.S. summit, titled 'Our Answer to the United States is Clear,' Ri said, "The hopes for improved DPRK-U.S. relations that were highly inflated two years ago have turned into despair marked by deterioration today, and even a glimmer of optimism for peace and prosperity on the Korean Peninsula has faded into a pessimistic nightmare." This is the first time Ri Son-gwon, appointed as Foreign Minister in January, has issued a statement regarding the U.S.

Regarding the current situation, he assessed, "The desire of the peoples of the two countries, DPRK and the U.S., to put a permanent end to the most hostile DPRK-U.S. relations on Earth and to open a new era of cooperation for peace and prosperity remains unchanged, but the situation on the Korean Peninsula is worsening day by day."

He emphasized, "We have taken a strategic and bold decision to preemptively suspend nuclear tests and intercontinental ballistic missile test launches to build trust between the DPRK and the U.S.," highlighting that they have taken proactive and extraordinary measures to improve DPRK-U.S. relations.

However, Foreign Minister Ri claimed that "Our Republic remains on the U.S. nuclear preemptive strike list, and various nuclear strike means possessed by the U.S. are directly aimed at us, which is the reality today," asserting that the U.S.'s hostile policy toward North Korea remains unchanged.

He said, "The U.S. is massively deploying modern advanced equipment such as stealth fighters and unmanned reconnaissance drones worth hundreds of billions of dollars to transform the South Korean military into an offensive force, and the South Korean authorities are pouring astronomical funds into this."

He continued, "Over the past two years, the U.S. administration has consistently engaged in utterly unjust and outdated actions, openly revealing that their so-called 'improvement of relations' between the DPRK and the U.S. means regime overthrow, 'security guarantees' mean thorough nuclear preemptive strikes, and 'trust-building' means unchanging isolation and suppression of the DPRK."

He argued, "All these facts clearly demonstrate once again that unless the deeply rooted U.S. hostile policy toward the DPRK, which has lasted for over 70 years, is fundamentally ended, the U.S. will remain a long-term threat to our country, our system, and our people."

Then, targeting U.S. President Donald Trump, Foreign Minister Ri said, "We will no longer throw a bundle of achievements for propaganda purposes to the U.S. rulers without any cost."

So far, President Trump has appeared to focus on managing the situation so that North Korea does not become a negative factor in his November re-election bid. This statement can be seen as a threat that could nullify Trump's greatest diplomatic achievement.

President Trump and Chairman Kim Jong-un meeting in the North side of the Military Demarcation Line at Panmunjom in June last year, then moving to the South side.

Foreign Minister Ri mentioned 'nuclear war deterrence' again. He indicated that North Korea's top leadership, at the 7th Central Military Commission's 4th expanded meeting held last month, "solemnly declared to further strengthen the country's nuclear war deterrence to cope with the U.S.'s long-term nuclear war threat by discussing the national nuclear development strategy," suggesting future nuclear force enhancement.

Additionally, Foreign Minister Ri raised the possibility of annulling the Singapore Agreement, saying, "Even if the personal relationship between our top leadership and the U.S. president is maintained, there has been no real improvement in DPRK-U.S. relations. Is there a need to keep holding the hand shaken in Singapore?"

Jeong Seong-yoon, a research fellow at the Korea Institute for National Unification, said at a forum hosted by the institute on the 10th, "(North Korea) may declare the resumption of nuclear force enhancement in the second half of this year or officially announce the annulment of the 2018 North Korea-U.S. Singapore Agreement."

He added, "July 27 (Victory Day), September 9 (Foundation Day), and October 10 (Workers' Party Foundation Day) could be significant moments," and "Since North Korea has recently been emphasizing artillery roles, attention should also be paid to North Korea's messages on June 20 (Artillery Day)."

Meanwhile, Foreign Minister Ri's statement was not published in the Rodong Sinmun, which is also read by North Korean residents. This contrasts with the recent daily publication of anti-South Korean messages by Kim Yo-jong, the Party's First Deputy Director, and the spokesperson of the United Front Department.

Unlike inter-Korean relations, where the message was "Let's go as far as we can (statement by the United Front Department spokesperson on the 5th)," it is analyzed that they are leaving room for response by observing the reaction toward the U.S.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.