Kim Jong-un seeks negotiating leverage over Trump with new nuclear demands: analysts

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Experts say Kim’s public demand for more weapons-grade nuclear material is a calculated move to take denuclearisation off the table

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A picture released by the North Korean state news agency (KCNA) on Wednesday shows North Korean leader Kim Jong-un visiting a facility for the production of nuclear material at an undisclosed location. Photo: DPA

Park Chan-kyong

Published: 12:00pm, 30 Jan 2025

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un’s latest public push to expand his country’s nuclear arsenal is part of a calculated move to pressure Washington into accepting arms reduction talks instead of full denuclearisation, analysts say.

During a visit on Wednesday to what state media described as a fissile material production base and a nuclear weapons institute, Kim called for “exceeding the plan for producing weapons-grade nuclear materials and strengthening the country’s nuclear shield”.

He argued that a “long-term confrontation with the most vicious and hostile countries is inevitable”, called a robust stockpile essential for containing their enemies and described Pyongyang’s nuclear forces as “growing stronger by the day.”

“Guaranteeing peace and security by dint of strength is our mode of struggle and option,” Kim was quoted as saying by the state-run Korean Central News Agency (KCNA).

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Kim’s demand came just days after US President Donald Trump expressed his willingness to re-engage with Kim, referring to North Korea as a “nuclear power” – a departure from Washington’s long-standing policy of refusing to recognise Pyongyang’s nuclear status, which analysts perceived as a potential shift in US doctrine.