North Korean law allows for pre-emptive nuclear strikes

North Korea has passed legislation authorizing a nuclear attack and declaring the country’s status as a nuclear power “irreversible,” state media said Friday.

“If the national nuclear force’s command and control system is in danger of being attacked by hostile forces, a nuclear strike is automatically carried out immediately”, the law states, according to state agency KCNA.

With this new speech, North Korean leader Kim Jong-un said, “Our country’s status as a nuclear-armed state has become irreversible,” KCNA reported.

The announcement comes amid strained inter-Korean relations, with Pyongyang blaming Seoul for the latest Covid-19 outbreak while threatening retaliation against its neighbours.

North Korea has conducted a series of tests this year in defiance of sanctions, including an intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) for the first time since 2017.

US and South Korean officials have repeatedly warned that North Korea is preparing to conduct its seventh nuclear test.