Kim Jong-un cites global crises to justify nuclear buildup

Jan 06, 2026, 08:37 am

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North Korean leader Kim Jong Un observes a missile launch drill conducted by a key strike unit of the Korean People’s Army on Jan. 4, according to the Korean Central News Agency. / Yonhap

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un has indirectly referred to the crisis in Venezuela while emphasizing the legitimacy of North Korea’s nuclear weapons program under the banner of “war deterrence.”

According to the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) on Monday, Kim observed a hypersonic missile launch drill by a key strike unit of the Korean People’s Army the previous day. During the event, he stressed the importance of constantly demonstrating the readiness and lethality of strategic strike capabilities to adversaries.

“Making our enemies continuously and repeatedly recognize the constant readiness and fatal power of our strategic attack means is in itself an important and effective way of exercising war deterrence,” Kim was quoted as saying. He added that North Korea’s activities are “clearly aimed at gradually advancing nuclear war deterrence,” noting that “recent geopolitical crises and complex international events explain why this is necessary.”

While Kim did not explicitly mention Venezuela, his reference to “geopolitical crises” and “complex international events” is widely interpreted as an indirect allusion to the recent U.S. military action in Venezuela.

Kim also claimed that North Korea has recently achieved “important results” in operationalizing and weaponizing its nuclear forces, attributing these advances to the ruling party’s defense development line and its emphasis on defense science and technology.

Earlier, a spokesperson for North Korea’s Foreign Ministry strongly condemned the United States over the reported seizure and transfer of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro, calling the action a “flagrant violation of international law and the UN Charter.” However, notable was the absence of any mention of the Venezuela situation in major domestic outlets such as the Rodong Sinmun.

South Korea’s Unification Ministry assessed North Korea’s response as part of its broader pattern of anti-U.S. solidarity rhetoric. Ministry spokesperson Yoon Min-ho said during a press briefing that Pyongyang’s reaction closely resembled its response to the U.S. strike on Iranian facilities in June 2025, adding that it should not be seen as exceptional.

Hong Min, a senior research fellow at the Korea Institute for National Unification, said Kim’s remarks were “clearly North Korea’s way of responding to the U.S. attack on Venezuela,” adding that Pyongyang sought to contrast itself with Venezuela by highlighting its possession of nuclear deterrence capabilities.

#Kim Jong-un #North Korea #hypersonic missile #nuclear deterrence #Venezuela crisis