September 2023: The Permanent Nuclear Mandate

Assembly

In late September 2023, the 9th Session of the 14th Supreme People's Assembly unanimously adopted a revision that shifted the nuclear program from an "achievement" mentioned in the intro to a permanent legal pillar of the state's mission.

  • Enshrining "Exponential" Growth: The amendment added to the constitution (specifically Article 58) that the state would "develop highly nuclear weapons to ensure its rights to existence" and "deter war."
  • The Irreversibility Doctrine: Kim Jong Un declared that this move made the country’s nuclear status "irreversible." By making it the "basic law of the state," it legally prohibits any future official from negotiating away the nuclear program. It effectively turned denuclearization into an unconstitutional act.
  • Automatic Retaliation: This revision followed a 2022 law (which was then constitutionally backed in 2023) stating that if the "command and control" system is threatened, a nuclear strike shall be launched "automatically and immediately."